Spanish Armada making waves in controversial London art gallery

THIS time, the Spanish Armada has been welcomed to Britain… more specifically, to London’s Saatchi Gallery.

Departures by Spanish artist Xavier Mascaro features ghostly ships and 10 foot-tall faceless sentinels.
Mascaro – whose works have been shown in Sevilla and Malaga – presents a fleet of 20-plus skeletal iron boats, resembling ancient shipwrecks.

A second work, Guardians – a giant iron quintet of figures – resembles the terracotta warriors of ancient China.

Mascaro’s preference for iron takes inspiration from his Iberian predecessors, Julio Gonzalez, Jorge Oteiza and Eduardo Chillida.

Departures runs until October 5. For more information, visit saatchigallery.com