José Antonio Millán
Writer and publisher
The first thing that surprises, even from a distance, even at a casual glance at the totality of the Mini Prints, is its multiplicity. The view is fragmented into a myriad of facets; every wall, every edge is multiplied into an abundance of images which them, in a face to face dialogue, will transmit to us a special message, but now only summon the vibration of its presence.
This first impression is quickly corroborated by numbers: this year we encounter a record presence of artists, 687, who come from a record number of nations: 58 (the hazards of European history have certainly augmented the number of the latter). Such a feast of images, of proposals, of languages, speaks to us of the succes of the formula created by Pascual Fort and now continued by his family, but also of the great vitality of certain means, the print, and of a format, small, which have well defended their territory in the present moment of contemporary art.
Indeed, half way between the original work (of which it still conserves the breath, the tremor of the artist) and the reproduction (at its minimum level of repetition), the print is a versatile compromise, a borderline genus for connoisseurs and amateurs of what is least perishable, most proper to the work of art: its uniqueness, barely blurred, by the existence of the series.
And if a certain contemporary painting now speaks from its giantism of its grandiloquent and institutional pretensions (since no normal human being can accomodate such magnitude in his home), the standard of the Mini Print transmits the opposite, the desire to encounter a domestic shelter for an intimate dialogue. Not for these works is the difficult and spectacular joumey over the earth’s surface (containers, ships, airplanes). Mini Prints traverse the globe as a parasite of the postal service, camuflaged as business or love letters inside simple paper envelopes.
Thus, by the old fashioned means of stamps, letter boxes and sacks, they can travel from any part of the world and come together in Cadaqués.
It would be absurd, or pretencious, to single out any one from such an extensive quantity of art works (since we should not forget that, in addition, each artist can present several works). Nevertheless it would be fair to recognize two extremes: on one hand the Japanese presence, assiduous since the very first Mini Print exhibition, and with extraordinary technical level. And on the other hand, the explosive participation from the countries of Eastern Europe, which contribute their meticulosity and freshness to a show whose kaleidoscopic richness can not hide the beauty and precision of hundreds and hundreds of works attended and enjoyed one by one.
Mercedes Barberà Rusiñol
Director of the Mini Print International of Cadaques
The 14th Mini Print International, event that takes place every year in Cadaqués, could be defined as a true festival of quality and quantity.
In addition, this year its presence in England has been consolidated at the annual Arts and Music Festival at Wingfield College in Suffolk. Those attending the concerts and other cultural events during the festival have considered a visit to the Mini Print show to be indispensable.
In Canet de Mar, as well, people look forward to the periodical arrival of the show as a remarkable cultural event. The Gallery “l’Ateneu”, located in a beautiful Modernist building by the architect Domenech i Muntaner received visitors not only from Canet itself, but also from Barcelona and its surroundings.
The 14th Mini Print International of Cadaqués is planing to travel to Korea in the summer 1995 and will be exhibited in the Art Center of Seoul.
To this encouraging panorama should be added the interesting solo shows this past summer in Cadaqués. The works of the artists Dolors Bosch, Chris Denton, Sonia Foschi, Ingrid Shubert, Rumen Petrov and Ryuichi Sugino, winners of the previous year’s Mini Print, were highly praised by the public as well as the critics. The artists who attended their shows accompanied us in acting as members of the Jury of the 14th Mini Print International of Cadaqués.
We have also enjoyed the visit this summer of Mr. Joan Guitart, “Conseller de Cultura” of the Catalan Government.
All these visits and exhibitions have been recorded during the summer in the local press of Girona: “Punt Diari”, “Hora Nova”, “L’empordà”.
We gratefully acknowledge that the edition of this catalogue has been made possible thanks to the Ministery of Culture of the Spanish Government. I would like to emphasize the sensitivity and interest towards the Mini Print demostrated by Mr. José Guirao, Director General of Fine Arts.
However, it is the participating artists who, by sending their works, have really made possible the increasing expectation and prestige of the Mini Print International of Cadaqués among print collectors and art lovers.
We are now organizing the next show with great optimism.