Inauguration of Manel Doblas (January 8th 2010)

It can be said that the Rusiñol Gallery started 2010 with Manel Doblas‘ exhibition “Contemporary Realisms”. Contemporary Realism indeed, but -we should say- reminiscing ancient times: train tracks suggesting how fast present-days go by, but also train tracks and stations as the artist remembers them from childhood youth. Although not everything are train tracks…

Ignasi Cabanas, the Rusiñol Gallery director, welcoming everybody: the year 2010, the artist and the audience, to the first inauguration of the “year we inaugurate”. Manel Doblas is the second time he visits the Rusiñol Gallery. And his thematic has experienced a considerable change: not in vain he has spent two years in these works he is now presenting.

As usual, Josep Mª Cadena did his best to heat up the ambience, which was quite cold (at least, outside, in the street). He remarked the idea these works suggest some kind of parallelism with human life: these tracks make us think of the different trails we have to face throughout the parkour of our life. We cannot help it: «One of these trails we must follow».

Manel Doblas said he was especially pleased with this exhibition. The subject of train tracks and railway stations comes from childhood memories: «I came to Barcelona by train in ’62, to the Estación de Francia. These paintings also remind me of the days when I was a student, when I used to travel a lot by train and had to spend many hours at the stations».

Ignasi Cabanas makes a final synthesis of the different aspects of the work and the person of Manel Doblas that we have been listening to, and he thanks him for the notable effort that the preparation of this exhibition represents. «Let us start now with the usual raffles of our inaugurations…».