Exhibitions
The Vila Casas Foundation renews its painting collection with a humanist and contemporary perspective
A new journey through Catalan art that moves between matter and spirit, faithful to the vision of Antoni Vila Casas.
The Vila Casas Foundation presents a new reading of its painting collection at the Museu Can Framis, in a bid to rethink the permanent collections and open them to new interpretative paths. The exhibition, which brings together 224 works by more than 130 artists, proposes for the first time an exhibition discourse based on the dialogue between the formal and conceptual aspects of the artistic collection, and invites to a living and changing experience.
This renovation was born with the desire to remain faithful to the founding spirit of Antoni Vila Casas, but also to offer a contemporary reading of his legacy. The new collection thus becomes a starting point —a process of listening, reading and rereading— that moves away from the most academic perspectives to approach the main motivations that have guided Catalan plastic creation in recent decades.
Rafael Bartolozzi, Double, 1973.
With a humanistic and open perspective, the exhibition journey moves from the earthly realm to the spiritual dimension, placing the human being at the center as a meeting point between both worlds. The exhibition is structured around three major thematic axes: Matter as a vehicle , Transgressed reality and The gesture of existing .
Although painting plays a leading role, the new permanent collection establishes bridges with other disciplines that the Foundation has defended over the years, such as sculpture and photography. The increase in the presence of women artists is also noteworthy, in a clear commitment to balance and plurality of voices. Among the names present are Salvador Dalí, Àngel Ferrant, Laia Abril, Madola, Nazario, Joan Miró, Subirachs, Mari Chordà, Magda Bolumar, Josep Uclés, Picasso, Antoni Llena, Jaume Plensa, Joan-Pere Viladencas and Susana Ynglada, among many others.
Joan Miró, The Sickle, 1975 © Xavi Padrós.
At the same time, the Foundation is inaugurating the Antoni Vila Casas Tribute Space , a new area dedicated to tracing the different vital and professional facets of the founder from a human and humanist perspective. This space aims to be a living memory of his commitment to Catalan art and culture.
Looking ahead to 2026, the Can Framis Museum plans to add a new temporary exhibition hall, conceived as a project laboratory to keep the dialogue between the permanent collection and contemporary creation active.
Madola, Estella, 2025 © Xavi Padrós.
“ This year the Foundation celebrates 25 years since the creation of the artistic project Art 2000, coinciding with the inauguration of a renewed perspective of the painting collection and a space that brings us closer to the life of its founder. We are starting a new stage and reaffirming our commitment to the legacy of Antoni Vila Casas, where art and health are the epicenter of our mission. We want our permanent collections to be the backbone of our work and a source of constant learning ,” explains Cristina Ribes, general director of the Vila Casas Foundation.
