Artists from Torrents d'Art take part in the new exhibition at Sant Boi Museum

"Aesthetic Utopias - re-encantaments of the present" is the title of the new exhibition at Sant Boi Museum featuring artists from Torrents d'Art, the arts in health programme at Parc Sanitari Sant Joan de Déu.

The exhibition brings together three artists, three historical moments and three ways of seeing abstraction: firstly, the work of Carmen Ríos, with two pieces influenced by the RASEN (Reason and Sensibility) group as part of Sant Boi Municipal School of Art. Secondly, Ferran García Sevilla, an artist influenced by Eastern cultures and philosophies, who blends abstract elements with references to popular iconography and non-European art. And finally, Joan Miró, a pivotal artist in Surrealism, who captured in his works a connection between the earthly and the celestial through a unique visual language made up of symbols, lines and floating bodies.

This time round, the artists of Torrents d'Art (Lumi Almoril, Encarna Arroyo, Encar Gordón, Xavi Gusi, Agueda Hernández, Mireia Navarro, Fanny Tomás, Neus Sabaté, Olga Tomás and Magda) have experimented with tapestry and weaving, with warp and weft, inspired by the visual language of Sant Boi artist Miquel Rué, recently added to the Sant Boi municipal collection of contemporary art. Rué engaged experimentally with painting and created readings of the world outside the canons and more rational codifications of European abstraction. 

Sant Boi Museum has organised an exhibition about him entitled “History of the Forgotten Painter of Sant Boi de Llobregat” in which until 23 March visitors can see some of the works of this artist who reached his peak in Paris and died very young at the age of 37.

“Aesthetic utopias – re-enchantments of the present” was opened last week in a ceremony attended by José Luis Argudo, Solidarity Development Director at Parc Sanitari Sant Joan de Déu, who thanked everyone who has made this project possible for their hard work and commitment. Artists from Torrents d'Art and workshop leader Andrea Martínez, who they have worked with throughout the process of creating the exhibited pieces, were also there as they were determined not to miss the event and the thrill of seeing their pieces on display.

Olga Tomàs, one of the artists from Torrents d'Art, said that "it has been quite a challenge for us because we had never made tapestries before and we were very excited to experiment with this material. We are delighted with the outcome."

The event was hosted by Maria Lledó, the museum's director, and Antonella Medici, the researcher and curator of the exhibition, who argued that "culture has to be within everyone's reach. We have to be able to enjoy culture and artistic production based on the belief that everyone should have access to it. She praised the experimental efforts of the artists from Torrents d'Arts: This is a collective work of exploration which dispels prejudices and breaks away from the idea of hierarchies. There are renowned artists in the exhibition, such as Miró, but also unknown ones. It is a fascinating variety of creative approaches."