"Barcelona, retrats de proximitat". J.M. Cortina in "El núvol" /  by Toni Ricart

This very personal project was born when Toni Ricart finished a previous work in which he portrayed sixty-six musicians, an artistic expression that he himself plays as an amateur cello player. After this experience, Ricart wanted to bring his camera closer to a larger sample of talented people related to Barcelona's art and culture, with whom he himself has been involved in his multifaceted career as a graphic designer, illustrator and editor.

Over the course of four years, Ricart has chosen, located and convinced some eighty people to step in front of his camera. As he himself points out: "the criterion for choosing them was that they were people with works and careers that had had an impact on me, moved me, or both: old acquaintances of mine or people with whom I had never had any personal contact, but who interested me".

And so we find ourselves before a broad group of personalities with whom Ricart crosses his gaze and portrays with his camera. There is certainly an important weight in the group from his professional world; that is, from the fields of graphic design, painting, illustration and photography. But we also find writers, filmmakers, singers, musicians and other artists.

The portrait of each of them is accompanied by an introductory text with two components. On the one hand, a biographical note on the character's career and, on the other, a note on Ricart's relationship with the person photographed and what motivated him to approach his personality. In this way, text and image complement each other and allow us to better capture the identity of the people portrayed. Because, and this seems significant to me, Ricart's choice avoids particularly glamorous or very popular characters, whom readers could easily know and identify with. They are professionals of great worth, but most of them are usually far from the spotlight and media attention.

Ricart has used a universal digital camera and has almost always worked with the natural light of the spaces where he meets his photographic "dance partners". On occasion he has used a diffuser screen to achieve more nuanced lighting. And all this is certainly noticeable in the photographs, which are of a very soft black and white, avoiding strong contrasts and bringing us closer to the quiet intimacy of the subjects.

Another aspect is the format of the composition. Most of the photographs are framed with medium and close-up shots, which brings us very close to the people, making them close to us. As I said, the photographs are not studio photographs, with artificial lighting and backgrounds, but are shot in the environments in which the protagonists work and move, but, in general, these spaces do not have, in this series, a very important weight. People pass in front of their environments.

In this respect, it is worth noting that, as the author explains, the gaze is almost always frontal and direct, a condition which in his opinion is fundamental for us to be able to speak of a true portrait. And another always relevant point of the work is the presence, together with the gaze, of the hands of those photographed, which also contribute to expressing the features of their personality.

The work is published by Multistudio BOOKS, a small publishing house specialising in photobooks. With a format of considerable dimensions - 21×30 cm - it allows a wide view of the portraits, which makes it quite attractive. In any case, for those who are satisfied with a screen view of the portraits, they can also be seen on Toni Ricart's website, where they can also enjoy other very interesting photographic series.

As a whole, this work allows us to approach a wide range of leading figures of Barcelona's cultural reality, in a calm, unrushed way and with a remarkable photographic quality.

Núvol

"Mirades d’artista", Alex Milian talks about "Barcelona, retrats de proximitat" in “El Temps” /  by Toni Ricart

"Barcelona, retrats de proximitat" (Multistudio Books, 2023) are photographs and texts by Toni Ricart, portraits of Catalan cultural figures and a short written profile.

Toni Ricart, like all good photographers, not only takes technically perfect portraits, but also knows how to bring out an attitude in his subjects. The gazes of those portrayed by Ricart are direct, expressive, sympathetic or surly, but determined: they always look at the camera. Always. This implies a previous work by the photographer that we do not imagine, a preparation of the photographed, an approach. A more complex work than many techniques.

El Temps

Presenting “BARCELONA, RETRATS DE PROXIMITAT” at the RocioSantaCruz gallery in Barcelona /  by Toni Ricart

Last Saturday we presented the photobook "Barcelona, retrats de proximitat" in the patio of the RocioSantaCruz gallery in Barcelona. The event was presented by Jordi Soley. We also had live music by Alba Armengou accompanied by Ramon Macià at the piano.

An exhibition of portraits from the book will be on display this month at the ArtsLibris bookstore in the same gallery.

Now available for purchase! /  by Toni Ricart

Barcelona, retrats de proximitat

Toni Ricart

A collection of portraits that vindicates the excellence and talent that exists in Barcelona today.
Eighty protagonists of culture and creativity in a city that remains modern and avant-garde.

Printed in duotone by Nova Era.
21×29,7 cm.
184 pages.
texts in Catalan and Spanish.
ISBN 978-84-942372-8-7

35,00€

MultistudioBOOKS starts printing Toni Ricart’s latest photobook: “Barcelona, retrats de proximitat”. /  by Toni Ricart

“Around the nineties, the city knew moments of brilliance in terms of art, culture and creativity, and it seems that this modern and avant-garde spirit has been fading in recent years. Now, in Barcelona, there is no longer the energy of that time, but, on the other hand, there are still many people full of talent. This is the basic reason for this collection of portraits.”

The book Barcelona, retrats de proximitat, a collection of 80 portraits of protagonists of culture and creativity in Barcelona, made by Toni Ricart, has already gone to press.


The well-known printing house Nova Era is in charge of the photocomposition and printing, made with duotone on 135gr. matte coated paper.

The book will be published in early February 2023.

"Interpretar lo prohibido", group exhibition in Barcelona. /  by Toni Ricart

28 scenic, plastic and creative artists interpret with their works, the novel Lo prohibido by Esmeralda Berbel.

The exhibition Interpretar Lo prohibido was initially born from the voice of the activist and writer María LLopis in a course she attended on art and in which she mentions the work Cuídese mucho, by the multidisciplinary artist Sophie Calle. Sophie proposes to more than one hundred artists to interpret a breakup letter she receives by email.

28 artists have created a singular, evocative, multiple work from their artistic point of view in interpreting Lo Prohibido (The Forbidden).

Exhibition works: Laura Jou, Isabel Herrera, Carmen Escudero, Anna Alarcón, Duna Vallés, Mona Endara, Marianna Roigé, José Duarte, Manuel Moranta, Sergi Capellas, David Ruiz, Juan Cardosa, Carolina Conti, Ona Juan, Rut Muñoz, Lara Ubago and Toni Ricart.

... and the lasT portrait for "BARCELONA RETRATS DE PROXIMITAT": great architect Benedetta Tagliabue. /  by Toni Ricart

BENEDETTA TAGLIABUE, architect.

While I wait for Benedetta in the architecture studio she runs, in the Mercè neighborhood, I am surprised by the silence and peace that reigns there, despite being full of people working. I take the opportunity to admire corners, scale models, different objects, and the light that fills this unique space. 
Benedetta radiates a contagious sympathy and joy. She appears with her big smile and her colorful necklaces and clothes, apologizing for the delay. I tell her that I don't mind waiting in such an attractive space and that, besides, today is a special day for me, because hers is the portrait that makes 80, the one that closes my project. She likes that.

—

Benedetta Tagliabue is the principal architect of the architecture studio Miralles Tagliabue EMBT, which she founded together with Enric Miralles in 1991, and president of Fundació Enric Miralles, she is an architect graduated from the Istituto Universitario de Architettura di Venecia (IUAV). She completed her studies in New York and in 1989 she settled in Barcelona. In 2004 she received an honorary doctorate from the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at Napier University (Edinburgh). She currently combines her professional work with teaching in international schools and universities. She was a visiting professor in 2012 at GSD Harvard University and in 2011 at Columbia University in New York. From her studio she has designed projects in China, Germany, England and Holland, and other countries. Among her outstanding works are the Spanish Pavilion at the Shanghai Exhibition (2010), the Kālida Center (Maggie's Center) within the modernist complex of the Hospital Sant Pau, the Santa Caterina Market and neighbourhood in Barcelona (1997-2005), the Scottish Parliament Building (1999-2004), the Gas Natural Tower in Barcelona (1999-2006), the University Campus of Vigo (1999-2004) and the Diagonal Mar Park in Barcelona (1995-2002). Her works have received awards such as the International Fellowship, awarded by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), in its 2010 edition, the RIBA Jencks Award 2013 and the prestigious Stirling Prize in 2005. In 2014, she joined the jury of the Pritzker Prize. In May 2019, she received the Sant Jordi Cross awarded by the Generalitat de Catalunya for the excellence of her professional practice in the field of architecture worldwide.