Inauguration of Domènech i Sánchez (3 october 2014)

11 de October de 2014 Inaugurations at the Rusiñol Gallery

Earth tones, toasted tones, soft sensitivity tones, shades of an intimate deepening … are those Josep Domènech Sánchez is showing us at the Rusiñol Gallery since last Friday, the 3rd of the 10 month of this year. The date is not accidental, as you will see later on….

According to the author, «beauty is to capture a very special moment: a smile, a glance, a hug, a sunset. These are moments when you get that maximum warmth». These are those moments that reflect the tones used by the artist. This is Domènech i Sánchez’s painting.

“Without seeing his signature we knew it was him”: this is how Ignasi Cabanas introduced him in the inauguration. Was he right! Mr. Josep Mª Cadena, on his side, presented us the artist in the most amazing way: with the number 13. This is because thirteen (13) is the artist’s numeral: not because he is superstitious, but because of his own life … He was born in Barcelona, in the 13 of Picalquers St., on the 31 (13 backwards), of the third month (that is, March), of the year 1952 (52 is four times 13). And to top it off, “TODAY, the inauguration day, is the 3^rd of the 10th month: 3 plus 10 amounts to thirteen”.

The reason for the 13, according to Mr. Cadena: “The painter believes in the 13 because he trusts in what he does. All of us can do things well, but not everyone is able to trust in what they are doing. He stubbornly believed he had to paint, and do it in the best possible way: that is, loving what he was doing. If you watch his paintings, there you’ll guess a manual activity: that is to put colour on the wood (his original job!). From that he learnt to love the texture, to love many things… All these pictures depict the spirit; represent the confidence in painting, the faith in the person”.

The artist thanks Mr. Cadena’s critical comment, and he also gave thanks to the attendees. He offered himself for responding to the attendees’ questions. —“In your studio you have a hung brush: what does it mean? This is a “tribute” to the brush. When I started to paint using other techniques, such as passing rags above the wood, I hung up that brush, just to put it somewhere… and there it has remained as a tribute!”.

Someone who knows the painter closely asked: —“What does table tennis mean in your life?”. —(He laughs) “It is the sport I had practiced when I was young… To me it signifies the fight against oneself. It serves as a distraction and an improvement for me. It helps me to disconnect”…