The extraordinary plenary session of the Montcada i Reixac Town Council has approved dedicating the year 2027 to local artist Joan Capella, coinciding with the centenary of his birth. Exhibitions, educational activities and cultural itineraries will be scheduled.
The Montcada i Reixac Town Council has approved in an extraordinary plenary session the declaration of the year 2027 as 'Year of Joan Capella', on the occasion of the centenary of the painter's birth, who passed away in 2005. The initiative aims to highlight the artistic, cultural and human legacy of someone who was named Fill Predilecte of the municipality in 1997.
The planned programme includes an anthological exhibition, educational and outreach activities related to the plastic arts, as well as the organisation of cultural itineraries and thematic conferences. All actions will be coordinated by the council to promote the work of a key artist in 20th-century Catalan painting.
Joan Capella i Arenas (1927-2005) developed a pictorial work in an avant-garde style, influenced by Paul Cézanne and cubism. His career earned him awards such as the First Prize Santa Dorotea de Paisatge (1954), the Montcada Painting Prize (1955), the Sant Jordi Prize (1956) or the First Prize Ciutat de Terrassa (1961), as well as mentions in national and international competitions.
His work was selected for exhibitions such as the Hispano-American Art Biennial, the Salons de Maig in Barcelona, the Salon d'Automne in Paris or the International Art Fair in Chicago, which gave him visibility beyond the local sphere. He also participated in exhibitions in Madrid, Bilbao, Buenos Aires and several French cities.
Capella was part of the generation that renewed the cultural life of Montcada i Reixac during the post-war period. He was a founder of the Grup Tertúlia, a collective created in the 1950s that energised local art. Among his public works are the mural of the Santíssim chapel of the parish church of Montcada and the mural for the 75th anniversary of the Societat Recreativa Cultural La Unió de Mas Rampinyo.
In addition to his artistic facet, Capella maintained a strong civic commitment: he presided over the Unió de Mas Rampinyo and served as Jutge de Pau. From 1990 onwards, he taught painting classes in municipal courses organised by the Department of Culture, training several generations of students.
The Town Council expects that the activities of the 'Year of Joan Capella' will begin in early 2027 and extend throughout the year. The aim is for residents and visitors to get to know the work of an artist who marked the cultural identity of the municipality. The anthological exhibition will be one of the central axes of the programme.
With this declaration, Montcada i Reixac joins the tradition of dedicating thematic years to relevant figures of local culture, as has already been done with other artists and personalities. The initiative has the support of all political forces in the plenary.
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