Exhibitions
Ripoll reclaims four centuries of still lifes in an exceptional exhibition
The Ethnographic Museum presents From Matter to Eternity, a selection of forty works from the Joan Artur Roura i Comas collection that traces the evolution of the genre between the 17th and 21st centuries.
This summer, the Ethnographic Museum of Ripoll becomes one of the most outstanding cultural events in Catalonia with the exhibition From matter to eternity. Still lifes from the Joan Artur Roura i Comas collection , open from July 12 to September 13, 2026. The exhibition brings together forty works that offer a broad journey through the evolution of still life over more than four hundred years, from the 17th century to contemporary creation.
Far from being a simple exercise in representing objects, still life has been, throughout the history of art, a privileged space to explore the passage of time, the fragility of existence, ephemeral beauty and the relationship of human beings with their environment. The exhibition highlights this conceptual richness through works that dialogue with each other despite the chronological distance that separates them.
The tour allows us to observe how artists have reinterpreted the most everyday elements—fruits, flowers, containers or household utensils—transforming them into compositions full of symbolism, sensitivity and plastic experimentation. Each work offers a different perspective on a genre that, far from being exhausted, has been able to constantly reinvent itself over the centuries.
All the pieces come from the collection of Joan Artur Roura i Comas (Barcelona, 1944), one of the Catalan collectors who has built his collection guided by passion, curiosity and personal criteria rather than market trends. His philosophy is based on the conviction that private collections should contribute to public knowledge, which is why he regularly collaborates with Catalan museums and institutions through deposits and temporary loans that facilitate the dissemination of artistic heritage.
Among the artists represented, names such as Enric Pladevall, Molins Tura, Amèlia Riera, Carme Riera, Àngels Santos, Albert Ràfols-Casamada and Xavier Valls Subirà stand out, among others, forming a group that reflects the diversity of languages, styles and sensibilities that have kept this pictorial genre alive to this day.
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