Inauguration of Aguilar Moré (June 8th 2012)

It is said that the famous economic crisis is to be taken advantage of to “re-discover oneself”. The Rusiñol Gallery perhaps has not gone so far, but it is ending its season with an original proposal: “80 drawings” by Ramon Aguilar Moré. Yes, drawings! But not any drawings: they are Aguilar Moré’s, and they have their own story because Aguilar Moré began his artistic career painting dancers who were performing at the Liceo Theatre of Barcelona… And they have reached this far!

Obviously, it was not necessary to introduce Aguilar Moré. But, after all, the director of the Rusiñol Gallery —Ignasi Cabanas— had to say something to begin the inauguration: «I think that today is the “Day of Three Wise Men”. He is one of the most important artists of Catalonia, and he is a great knower of our house. This exhibition is a special one, dedicated to drawing. Drawings he made in pubs, when he was only 18 years old… and before!».

Josep Ma. Cadena: «Drawings are fundamental as far as Aguilar Moré’s art is concerned. He has practiced it since his junior years; even since his childhood: when he still was a child, he joined the studio of the ecenographer Oleguer Junyent, his father’s friend, and there he performed his first activities. Because of his skills for figure and colour, he soon succeeded as a painter. In this Rusiñol Gallery ha has been exhibiting in many occasions, and now he comes back with the most intimate aspect of his personality; that is, with drawings of this environment, at once so varied and so essential».

Aguilar Moré: «These drawings were shelved somewhere at home. It was Ignasi who thought of using them to make an exhibition. They are inspired on dolls, toy soldiers, small cars; all of them objects I had been collecting. I especially liked tin soldiers. I have a collection of antique dolls, porcelain made. I remember that I fell in love with a beautiful doll. Its price was 25,000 pesetas! My wife said, “Buy it and you will recover the money! In fact, I painted it and indeed, I did have back my investment!».

We are recalling other stories about Aguilar Moré: «My high school studies were more expensive than my brother’s medical career. In my last years I used to play hooky and preferred to draw jazz musicians in the theatre Novetats. Then came the ballet: I came to meet the impresario who ran the Liceo and he would let me go on stage: there I was well placed. I made so many drawings that I ended up by hating the ballerinas. Every day I drew 20 or 25 pages of them. This lasted for 10 years! From there, it came out my first exhibition at the Rovira Gallery: a success! The drawings were sold at 2.000 pesetas of the year ’49».