Exhibitions
Xavier among books
If there were an almanac of the artistic Gotha , Xavier Vilató would authoritatively head the letter V. Ah, sorry... do you know what Gotha is? It is the publication where all the European royalty and their place in such a consanguineous constellation appeared. Xavier Vilató Lascaux (Boulogne - Billancourt, 1958) is the son of the artist Javier Vilató Ruiz and nephew of José Vilató, who signed himself J. Fin. That is, grandson of Lola Ruiz Picasso, the artist's sister. Grandson, on his mother's side, of the painter Élie Lascaux, great-nephew of the surrealist poet, ethnologist and art critic Michel Leiris and even the Valencian nephew of Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler, Picasso's dealer, the leading gallerist of the artistic avant-garde.
In short, if we were to prick the veins of Picasso's nephew/grandson, only art would come out. But since we don't want to commit painful or perhaps criminal acts, we will be content with the good work of Malén Gual, who has just retired as curator of the Museu Picasso in Barcelona, who has curated an exquisite exhibition on Vilató's relationship with books and reading. Vilató paints and makes sculptures, objects, ceramics in collaboration with Joan Gardy Artigas, lithography and illustration, theatrical sets, cinema... In these cases, in the past, the label of multifaceted or multidisciplinary was used. Today, however, it is difficult to find an artist who has not tried all these practices.
Vilató works in thematic series. But there are transversal series, throughout his entire work. Gual has chosen his relationship with the world of books, not exempt, at the same time, from voyeurism and intimacy. And under the heading “Xavier between books” he brings together work from various periods, such as the initial paintings that show couples reading books in the privacy of the home. And sculptures and drawings made for the drama La Graine d'amour, which we were able to see in 2013 at the Marès Museum. But also very recent works, such as the series Les idees , with images as paradoxical as an idea pulled by the hair, another lost, one in flames, one that arose just before being embodied in a work, etc.
Among so many techniques and procedures, illustrated books and collections of lithographs dominate, such as La grasse matinée , by Jacques Prévert; L'evasion souterraine, by Michel Leiris; Walks in Jaén, with poems by Manuel Urbano; bound folders such as El jardín circumflexo or Cuatro días en la Alhambra and, for dessert, the succulent Yantares y siestas, with text by Rosana Torres and foreword by JM Arzak. good profit
Palau Foundation
Caldes d'Estrac
From 08.11.25 to 26.04.26
Bonart 202
