Casa Batlló successfully presented Hidden Order, a monumental audiovisual work by Matt Clark, founder of United Visual Artists (UVA), marking the inauguration of the Gaudí Year 2026. Presented as a public and free event, the fifth edition of the Mapping once again transformed the façade of Gaudí’s building into a powerful space for collective experience, attracting tens of thousands of spectators to the streets of Barcelona.
Conceived as a large-scale audiovisual performance, Hidden Order explored the cycles of emergence, chaos, and transformation, resonating with “L’ordre invisible,” the official motto of the Gaudí Year 2026. The piece combined light, movement, and sound in collaboration with choreographer Fukiko Takase and composer Daniel J. Thibaut, integrating architecture, technology, and the human body into a single performative gesture. The experience was further intensified by the live performance of Fukiko Takase, whose presence activated the façade in real time, creating a direct and emotional dialogue between the building, the urban space, and the gathered audience.
Matt Clark señala:
“It is an honor to present Hidden Order, alongside my incredible collaborators, especially as it marks the 100th anniversary of Gaudí’s passing. Similar to the feeling one experiences after visiting a Gaudí building, I hope the audience is left with a sense of wonder and reverie.”
The Casa Batlló Mapping is established as a defining moment in the cultural and civic landscape of Barcelona, solidifying the projection mapping commissions of Casa Batlló Contemporary, the institution’s artistic program, as one of the most important urban art initiatives in Europe and a must-see event on the city’s cultural calendar.
Matt Clark, from United Visual Artists, adds:
“If there’s anything to take away, it might be a greater awareness of how order and uncertainty coexist, not just in architecture or art, but also in the way we perceive the world more broadly.”
Beyond the Façade: The exhibition beyond the Mapping
For the first time, the Mapping also marked the inauguration of Beyond the Façade, the inaugural exhibition of Casa Batlló Contemporary, held in its new artistic space on the second floor, which was launched yesterday, January 31, in parallel with the mapping.
Created by United Visual Artists, the exhibition was conceived as an extension of the intervention on the façade, offering a more serene and immersive experience, structured as a journey from light to darkness. Through this progression, the exhibition deepens the dialogue between Gaudí’s legacy and contemporary creation.
Beyond the Façade will remain open until May 17, 2026.
PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Exhibition: Beyond the Façade – United Visual Artists
Dates: January 31 – May 17, 2026
Second floor of Casa Batlló
Access: included with the cultural visit or with a separate ticket