LANDSCAPES. A PICTORIAL JOURNEY (1877-1977)
Curated By Sergio Fuentes Milà
The current exhibition is the prolongation of an initiative recovered by Sala Parés in 2017 due to the commemoration of its 140th anniversary. It is about rediscovering its roots, studying and highlighting them through academic researches and exhibition projects illustrating different episodes of its history.
In previous exhibitions such as “MEMORIA 140 anys” (2017), “París a Parés. À la recherche de la Ville Lumière ”(2018) and “Salons a Can Parés (1884-1930)” (2019), various questions about the gallery were developed as well as its operation during its widespread trajectory, the schools and artistic trends represented on its walls, the relevance for the Catalan artists of travelling to significant cities as Paris, the showing phenomenon of salons or artistic and cultural associations, among others.
In this instance we dedicate this year’s distinguished exhibition to the crucial pictorial genre of modern Catalan painting: landscaping. We propose a journey through one hundred years starting from the foundational date of the Sala Parés as an art gallery (1877). The expository yarn is made up of a selection of artworks from the gallery’s collection, as well as significant private collections.
From the romantic landscape to the unquestionable commercial success of the realistic revolution of Ramon Martí i Alsina; from the precious anecdote integrated into urban views to the mystery and solitude of Modest Urgell’s cemeteries; from the Escola d’Olot to the luminism of Sitges; from the slumming landscapes of the “Colla del Safrà” to the poetry of the Jardines de España by Santiago Rusiñol; from the Noucentista’s containment to the reassessment of the group of “Evolucionistas”.
The moment we are living now, uncertain and somewhat claustrophobic, forces us to look beyond, to gaze at through the window looking for fresh air, remote places, spots that make us thrill and where to get lost, dreamy corners where to escape to. The stroll we propose aims for all this. The landscapes of the painters who have constantly exhibited all the way through the history of the Sala Parés open up new horizons, new ways of looking at and appreciate, as well as rediscovering artworks apparently forgotten.
