'Subirachs In essence - Sculpture and drawing (1952-2002)' at the Artur Ramon Gallery

The Artur Ramon Art gallery presents the SUBIRACHS exhibition. IN ESSENCE - Sculpture and drawing (1952-2002), a deeply personal and revealing retrospective of the work of Josep M. Subirachs, which will open its doors to the public from April 11 to May 31. This exhibition, curated by Joan Gil Gregorio and Conxita Oliver, seeks not only to highlight the exquisiteness of Subirachs' artistic production but also to delve into his creative essence, offering a new reading of his legacy on the tenth anniversary of the passing of the artist in 2014.

In the words of Artur and Mònica Ramon, "Subirachs was the great Catalan sculptor of the post-war period, from expressionism to informalism. The only solid critic of art is the time that puts artists in place while building a canon. In this canon, Subirachs plays a preponderant and indisputable role". The relationship between the artist and the Artur Ramon Art Gallery is a story of friendship and collaboration that spans almost fifty years. As expressed by Mònica Ramon and Artur Ramon, "we have fond memories of Subirachs, an affable man who always treated us one-on-one. We shared hours in his studio and learned a lot. So, here is this sample as a thank you and tribute to this relationship of half a century and for the centuries to come".

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The exhibition consists of a selection of pieces that embrace both figuration and abstraction, demonstrating the wide range of techniques and styles that Subirachs mastered throughout his career. According to Joan Gil Gregorio, "this exhibition is not only a tribute to Subirachs but also an opportunity to rediscover and reevaluate his work, often overshadowed by his contribution to the Sagrada Família". Conxita Oliver emphasizes that "the exhibition reveals the capacity de Subirachs to express the human essence, not only through the form but also the concept and the materialization of the artistic thought".

YOU WILL SURVIVE IN ESSENCE offers visitors an immersion into Subirachs universe, allowing them to experience first hand the depth and complexity of his art. The exhibition is an open window into the exploration of the dualities and tensions that characterize Subirachs' work, from his first expressionist stage to his foray into abstraction and beyond. This retrospective exhibition gathers around fifty pieces, including sculptures and drawings, from the late 1950s to the early 1990s, which search for what is essential in Subirachs' art. Highlights include the terracotta Dona negra (1951) or his first abstract sculpture Tower of Babel (1955). Or the large piece Ferro, which is exhibited next to the drawings Ferro, Vertical, Sidero and Rome, in which you can see the radical breakdown of figuration and the formal purification of form.

YOU WILL SURVIVE EN ESSÈNCIA will travel to Madrid at the end of the year, where it will be exhibited at the Leandro Navarro gallery, one of the most prestigious in the capital.