Sophie Cassard
Director of the gallery L’Etangd’art
Cadaqués is a Land of Emotion
Nobody, having cleared the heights, can avoid admiring the blue of the sea, the roughly cut coast, before perceiving the whiteness of its houses hidden in the hollow of the waves and the rocks.
Land of emotion, land of fidelity, land of adventure, land of culture, land of encounters, she hides in her bosom, for more than thirty years, the indefatigable work of a family devoted to printmaking.
It was Pascual Fort, visionary artist, who knew how to launch the challenge, immediately followed by a cohort of international artists who, under his banner, didn’t hesitate for an instant to send their prints, united in a competition and an itinerant exhibition. Later, with all her soul and passion, Mercedes Barberá de Fort resumed the untiring job of gathering the works, dedicating her professional competence and her exigency to the artists and searching with all her energy for the means of continuing this enterprise, aided by Pep and later by Mercè and Aleix.
And so, every year the large blue door opens into the old workshop converted into a gallery. And the fantastic kaleidoscope of the Mini Print is reborn, every year renewed, every year awaited by so many admirers and amateurs. And the emotion is always there at first sight; it is the magic of seeing so many artists of such different origins and cultures united in one single “Great Mass” of printmaking.
Here is no ostracism, the famous artist side by side with the debutant of faultless technique, drypoint or mezzotint confronts digital art without complex, abstraction allies with classicism without delay, for the visual pleasure of the greatest number, with no limitation other than the imposed format of 10×10 cm, 100 square centimeters for expressing his art, his emotion, his culture.
Coming from Korea, from Chile, from China, from the Ukraine, from Europe or from America, all religions, all tendencies are represented. The catalogue that you are going to browse is witness to the richness of this adventure.
Whenever the Mini Print is hung on our walls during its passage through France, it appears to me as a treasure: the union of so much work, so much talent, so much dedication. The desire to come together under one single banner is deserving of respect.
Let us guarantee that each according to his means strives for the continuity of this extraordinary adventure and that this exhibition receives the recognition that it deserves.
Mercedes Barberà Rusiñol
Director of the Mini Print International of Cadaques
The 31st Mini Print International of Cadaques offers a faithful panorama of contemporary printmaking. The great variety of styles and tendencies in contemporary art are amply reflected in the beautiful and interesting works that the artists show us in this exhibition.
This summer, in the Taller Galeria Fort of Cadaques, the Mini Print had very many visitors. Participating artists from New Zealand, India, Croatia, Thailand, Japan, Italy, Kosovo, Brazil, Poland, Luxemburg, France, Switzerland, Austria, the United States, Colombia, Denmark, Australia and all the Spanish autonomous communities came to Cadaques to see the exhibited works. They expressed their joy in being part of the exhibition as well as the interest produced by the sight of so many techniques and forms of expression reflected in these small prints from around the world. Collectors, art critics and a numerous general public passed through the gallery with great curiosity to see what the exhibition offers. For many of them this visit has been transformed into a ritual of friendship and communication. Thanks to our web site, many of them were already informed in great detail about what they would find.
The presence of last year’s winning artists at the openings of their respective solo shows enlivens the interest of art lovers who desire to make contact with them in order to exchange ideas about creative processes and other themes of mutual interest. This year the following artists visited us in Cadaques and performed the difficult task of acting as jury of the present exhibition: Jeanette Thorup and her whole family from Denmark; James McCreary and his wife Betty from Ireland; Junko Funada and his stylist partner Masashi from Japan; and Kana Veradacha from Thailand who celebrated his birthday with us. They all left us with fond memories and a promise to return to see us. We are sorry that Nelly Sandeva from Bulgaria and Eduardo Lopez from Cuba were unable to join us, but their greatly admired and valued works overwhelmingly compensated for their absence.
During July, August and September the exhibition was also shown in Wingfield Barns, a beautiful place in England close to Cambridge. The number of visitors to the exhibition continues to increase thanks to Ian Chance who, from the beginning (20 years ago!) has been responsible for the success and continuity of the Mini Print’s presence in England.
The Fundació Tharrats d’Art Gràfic in Pineda de Mar, near Barcelona, presented the exhibition in October and half of November. Its five years of continuity in this town causes it to be awaited with great interest. The presence of the Mayor, Mr. Xavier Amor, at the opening made the event stand out. In his presentation he emphasized the increasing knowledge of Pineda throughout the world due to the Mini Print. We are grateful for his gratifying words.
Gallery L’Étangd’art in Bages (France), near Narbonne, receives the Mini Print in November, December and January. Its presence has become an event that is awaited with great expectation by so many amateurs of printmaking in the south of France hoping to discover the innovations that are reflected in the Mini Print every year. All this is due to the professionalism and tenacity of its director Sophie Cassard.
We would like to state here our respect and solidarity with the Japanese people who have suffered a terrible earthquake followed by a devastating tsunami, and especially our empathy with the participating Japanese artists who have directly or indirectly suffered the consequences of this hard aggression of nature.
We are grateful for the interest that the exhibition has aroused in the media, especially the reports and interviews in the Catalan Public Television (TV3). The Catalan, French and English press have also taken note of the exhibition. The Department of Culture of the Catalan Government has helped us to spread news of the event through its Territorial Services in Girona.
Thanks, many thanks to all the participating artists! Together, they and we form a non-profit association which, with perseverance, has managed to successfully maintain the existence of the Mini Print International of Cadaques for 31 years.
We are going forward with eagerness and hope towards the 32nd edition!
My gratitude.