Ramon Vilanova (caldes de Montbui, Vallés Occidental, 1947) was born in a small catalonian town, in which a unique language is spoken: Catalan. a language with latin roots, a language brought over by the roman legionnaires and colonizers, sister to spanish, French, Italian and the other romance languages. I mention this, of course, because we must be aware that we all see the world through our language’s peculiar personality. ramon was brought up within a simple family, habituated to the difficulties of years that were difficult for everyone, never mind for the families without any substantial means, who would have felt marginalized from all social and political activity. He experienced from a young age the delight that comes from exploring one’s surroundings. He connected with the country, smooth and also varied – there is a proverb which, by all appearances, originated from the pride people feel for their own country: “com el Vallés, no hi ha rés,” (No place can possess, the character of el Vallés.) which plainly demonstrates the capacity of affection for what is close – something which he heartily embraced since childhood. When he would go into the country, due to the short stature of growing children, he would gaze at the grasses at the edge of the trail instead of the majestic curves of the mountains or the grand panoramas. In the vegetable patch of his home, he would observe flowering plants growing from improvised pots, made from water buckets filled with holes, now put to use by planting geraniums or maybe a rose bush which would freely grow from those small patches of earth, watered with love and delicacy.

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-Josep Cadena
Art Critic
Awarded the Cross of Saint George (St.Jordi) of the Council of Catalonia.