interviews
Xicu Cabanyes, more than fifty years writing voluminous stories in the Bosc de Can Ginebreda
The book about the more than 50-year career of Xicu Cabanyes in the Can Ginebreda Forest in Porqueres is published.
The book dedicated to the more than fifty years of the Bosc de Can Ginebreda has been published this year, and has been conceived as a tool to preserve and transmit the memory of this project initiated by Francesc Cabanyes i Collell (Serinyà, 1945).
Cabanyes is a multifaceted sculptor and artist. His work is characterized by a vital and provocative look, with themes such as the body, eroticism, love, nature, vital energies, social criticism and, ultimately, the human condition.
It should be remembered that in 1975 he began in Porqueres what would become his great life project, the Bosc de Can Ginebreda. What began as an open-air sculpture exhibition space has grown and transformed into an open-air museum, fully integrated with the landscape.
Today, the forest is home to more than 150 sculptures spread over about four hectares of land and is one of the great references in outdoor sculptural art.
In 2025, the Bosc celebrated its 50th anniversary, also coinciding with Xicu Cabanyes' 80th birthday. This commemoration served to recognize his artistic career of more than half a century and the legacy that the artist has built in the territory.
INTERVIEW
"Every sculpture is a book"
What does this book represent, since it includes an entire trajectory linked to the Bosc de Can Ginebreda?
Xicu.- A forest has been created with a total of 150 sculptures and people have been able to come and visit it.
The book is a book that should be collected by all the people who have passed through the forest. I believe that this book should not be a cult book. It should be a record and a compendium of things, stories and anecdotes that have happened during more than half a century of its existence.
You have stated that you have carried out more than 2,000 projects and models during the course of your professional career…
Well, yes, since every day I have been working with new ideas and proposals from my workshop in Porqueres. I have tried to come up with new ideas every day in order to turn them into sculpture. Maybe with models we would come up with about 2,000 projects…
How did the idea of publishing the book come about and what will readers find in it?
Quitu Pau was the initiator of this idea 6 years ago in the Forest.
I have made a hundred original, cut-out covers and I think the result has been very beautiful.
If you had to summarize all the years you have dedicated to the Bosc de Can Ginebreda in a single idea, what would it be?
Difficult job, as it involves many years of work!!!
I think that every year that passes you see the world more different and more critical. Many of us who have been working in the Forest cannot endorse what was done five years ago!
Can Ginebreda is a space that speaks above all about people. And those of us who make sculptures like me, write novels with volume. Each piece is a story and each sculpture is a book.
And when you leave the Forest… in many cases you leave with a story. It doesn't mean that all artistic proposals have to convince everyone… It just needs to!
Is there any work in the book that you consider particularly significant in your career? Why?
Above all, the book reproduces a very nice idea, which is that we have many boxes full of photos of fans and visitors. The book wanted to include a 10 cm strip dedicated page by page to this section.
What has working in direct contact with nature given you over the years?
Very much!!! I consider myself a farmer, I need the land, the fruits, the vegetables, the animals, etc., around me. I would be unable to create a sculpture if I had my workshop installed in a big city.
I like this "piece of the world" that is Porqueres much more and it has helped me develop my creativity day by day.
"Each piece is a story and each sculpture is a book"
Most of your sculptures often provoke, surprise or even make you uncomfortable. What do you seek to provoke in visitors?
When you're young and rebellious, you look for a reaction—good or bad—in the people who visit you... and now that I'm older, I look more for being their friend.
What would you like to see left of your work when you are no longer around?
This is a very pretentious question! Above all, it must maintain the visitor's interest. We hope that future generations will continue to visit and be interested in the works exhibited in the forest.
How would you assess this entire career, and what are you most proud of? Do you think that The Forest is one of the best ideas you've had throughout your artistic life?
The most rewarding thing of all is that I really liked sculpture and have always been able to enjoy and live it. I work, live, think, sleep and wake up with sculpture. I love this artistic discipline.
On the other hand, I am very happy and proud and have always been surrounded by my people.
I believe that the Bosc de Can Ginebreda has been a great success and that it has not been closed off to any chapel, nor has it had an air of privacy. The forest has always had an open door to the whole world!
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