The work of Lleida-born artist Martí Ripoll is characterized by delicacy, elegance, minimalism, and beauty.

Throughout his career, he has worked with various techniques such as oils, acrylics, drawing, engraving... but most of his recent work has focused on watercolor: a technique that requires quick, confident strokes to transform the stain into the creation that the artist already has in mind before execution.

A comb as it is. Artistic projection is a communication between the artist and the canvas, but also between the artist and humanity, philosophy, and critical and profound thought. The artist's obsessions appear again and again in his works, like a mantra, through repetition, as if we could only come to know who we are and what is expected of us through concentric thoughts and digressions.

The major themes that appear in Martí Ripoll's work are those related to identity and subtlety. Many of Martí Ripoll's works feature Lleida and the Tierras de la Plana region. And in this territory, there is also the map of his loves, where he locates his particular way of seeing the world at each node. The obsession with emptiness, to always remove what is superfluous, what is trivial, and what does not contribute. His paintings always convey what is important, what is essential, what helps us to recognize with our hearts what is represented. Calm, reflection, and serenity are his hallmarks.

Nothing is obvious in his work. Beneath an image where, thanks to the composition, everything is in its place, we see sparks of symbolic universes that now appear in the form of collages, recently with characters scattered as they were then over dreamlike fields. The curation of the works that make up this exhibition stems from an introspective gaze that invites us to incorporate beauty into our daily lives and our intimacy, to make our home a temple where we can find calm, rest, and serenity in every object, every painting, every room of our home.

Series:

- Paisatges reconstruïts

- Beatus Ille

Series “Reconstructed Landscapes”

Traditionally, we intuitively associate the idea of landscape with a bucolic, natural, and spontaneous mental image. However, landscape is the result of human intervention; it is therefore a construction. A construction that speaks to us of generations, of the passage of time, of the uses of nature through the needs of each historical moment, of fashions. Like landscape, painting is a process of reconstruction: we rebuild a natural landscape that has been previously altered by humanity, but this time incorporating an artistic perspective. A perspective that, through composition, speaks of my symbolic universe: a landscape that I distance myself from, to remove the superfluous from the plan and focus on what is truly important, on the essential. A perspective that travels through a free stroke, never encapsulated by drawing or form. Always seeking elegance, delicacy, life between the plausible and the ethereal. Each landscape is different, and with each one I establish an intimate relationship to connect with the depth of each place and each emotion that arises in me when I face artistic creation. I do the same work of connection with commissions: I not only paint the landscape I see and feel, but I also try to capture the aura, the gaze, the emotions, the memories, the identity, the nostalgia... that that space, that place, that house or tree evokes in the person who commissions me.

Beatus Ille series

The Beatus Ille series highlights the authenticity of simple life and the values associated with rurality. The darkness that characterizes the paintings in this series suggests the threat that humans pose to ourselves, sometimes in the form of depopulation, other times in the abandonment of the land to embrace new industries that cannibalize the territory.

We are living in difficult times in which mediocrity and the “anything goes” attitude take center stage. We must therefore be careful not to become strangers to our own land, not to

disconnecting from it so that we do not have to gather the small pieces of evidence of a world that was healthier, more cultured, more sustainable, more balanced, and, ultimately, more humane. Culture, art, artistic creation, connection with supreme values, education, and the cultivation of a more critical gaze are key pieces for our salvation.

PAINTING AWARDS

● 1st Prize in Painting, “Bienal de Pintura del Vendrell.” El Vendrell (Tarragona) – 2012

● 1st Prize in Plastic Arts, “Pere Romeu” of Torredembarra (Tarragona). Painting category. 2012

● 1st Prize, City Council of La Sènia (Tarragona). 2014

OTHER AWARDS.
● 1st Prize, Manresa Rapid Painting Competition, 2024.
● 3rd Prize, Burgos Rapid Painting Competition, 2023.
● 1st Prize, Claver School of Lleida, June 2022.
● 1st Prize, Artesa de Lleida, June 2022.
● 1st Prize CPR Soses. September 2021
● 1st Special Prize Watercolor Sant Andreu de la Barca. December 2019
● 1st Prize Aguarón. October 2019
● 1st Prize Sant Gregori. April 2019
● 1st Prize Alquézar. August 2019
● 2nd Prize in Prat de la Cuenta (Tarragona) Rapid Painting Competition – August 2010
● 2nd Prize in Zumaia (San Sebastián) Rapid Painting Competition – August 2011
● 1st Prize in Sant Hilari Sacalm (Girona) Rapid Painting Competition – April 2012
● 1st Prize in the Torroella de Montgrí – El Estartit (Girona) Rapid Painting Competition – April 2012
● 1st Prize in the Arbeca (Lleida) Rapid Painting Competition – July 2012
● 1st Prize in Almacelles. March 2019
● 1st Prize Balaguer - April 2018
● 1st Prize Suyo Vieja de Lleida - October 2017
● 1st Prize Prades - April 2017
● 1st Prize Watercolor. La Sénia - July 2016
● 1st Prize Lleida - May 2016
● 1st Prize Lleida, Barrio Matadero - June 2016
● 1st Prize of Honor, Súria (Barcelona) - July 2014
● 1st Prize Watercolor, Caldes de Montbui (Barcelona) - July 2014
● 1st Prize Rapid Painting Vila de Cubelles (Barcelona) - April 2013
● Special Prize for Rapid Painting, Caldes de Malavella (Girona) – PGA Tour Catalonia – July 2012

Exhibitions: Solo
2013
- “It is from afar that I see more clearly.” A reflection on perspective and distance in personal decision-making. Cambrils Town Hall.
2014
- - “Great works of universal painting.” Recreation of the classics that form part of the history of painting with a modern and updated vision. Sala Icart, Torredembarra.
- - “Landscapes.” Minimalist landscapes of Spain. El Pardo Gallery, El Vendrell.
- - “Miscellaneous.” Varied and retrospective work. Poniendo Gallery, Lleida.
2015
- Lleida - Poniendo Gallery
2018
- “Art and Territory.” Collection of urban illusions from the Pla d'Urgell region. Castell de Remei, Fondarella, and Mollerussa. July, August, November 2018.
- “Acrylics and Watercolors.” Recent work. Michel Menéndez Gallery. Christmas 2018-2019.
2019
- “The month of... Robert Martí: Retrospective.” Círculo de Belles Arts de Lleida. January 2019
- “Perspective of color.” The Segrià region through different minimalist landscapes painted exclusively with watercolors. Instituto de Estudios Ilerdenses de Lleida. August 2019
- “Perspective of Color.” Segrià Regional Council, Lleida. October 2019
2021
- “Palo de Rosa” Showroom. Christmas 21-22
2024
- “Beatus Ille.” CaLagneta Gallery - Art and Wine

Group exhibitions:

Poniendo Gallery. Arteròtic. November 2013
- ArtPoint Gallery. “Water.” September 2014
- ArtPoint Gallery. Group exhibition. May 2015
- Venice - Christmas 2016
- Marbella International Art Exhibition. March 2016
- Zaragoza - “Eklectic.” Pilar Ginés Gallery. April 2016
- Girona. “El Claustro” Gallery. Christmas group exhibition. December 2016
- Lleida. Espacio Caballeros Gallery. Christmas group exhibition. December 2017
- Girona. El Claustro Gallery. Christmas Collective Exhibition. December 2017
- “The City.” Urban Landscapes. Michel Menéndez Gallery. Pamplona. December 2021
- “Km0.” Collective Exhibition of Artists from Lleida. CaLagneta Art and Wine Gallery. February 2025

For more information about the artist Martí Ripoll at Galeria Espai Cavallers