This summer at Consell de Cent street, the Petritxol gallery hosts an exhibition of Opisso, Cornet and Muntañola with the simple goal of cheers us up. In current times and the headlines we read, this show will pull up more than a smile, guaranteed! Scathing, ironic, satirical, each one with their own style, these artists remind us that long ago critical voices already existed looking at life and its vecissitudes on the bright side.
In this exhibition you will be able to see a selection of the most acute and humorous works of each artist. Illustrations, book covers and cartoons that communicate tenderness, suggest the birth of comic books, and give us clues about the current design through drawings that can recall works from contemporary artists. For instance the work of Jordi Labanda, who shares with Muntañola his aesthetic sense when it comes to drawing elegant and stylized people, drawn to the 1950’s and 1960’s aesthetics and a critical sense to everyday issues in society.
Opisso, Cornet and Muntañola were great storytellers of the society they lived in, with differences that made them unique. Opisso was also a great watercolorist artist from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the best graphic chronicler of the city of Barcelona. His images of crowds in which he masters to enhance intimate moments with precision as well as absurd or humorous details are especially famous. Cornet is characterized by a less acidic and more humorous style while Muntañola was, a part from a draftsman, a writer, a publicist and a contributor to many newspapers such as La Vanguardia, El Correo Catalán, Mundo Deportivo or Don Balón.
A definitely recommended nod to your day to day life!
The largest collection of Opisso in Spain
It is in the Astoria Hotel where the Opisso Museum of Barcelona is located, the largest collection of the Catalan illustrator in Spain. This is a permanent exhibition that occupies the top three hotel lounges with more than 200 pieces that provide to one of the most classic hotels from the Eixample neighborhood a unique and singular character. A collection that has been collected by Mr. Jordi Clos, president of the Derby Hotels Collection, a true lover of art and culture.
