The UB pays tribute to Luisa Granero, a leading figure in women's sculpture
Enric Galcerà, Luisa Granero’s son.
News
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Institutional
(07/03/2024)
Yesterday, 6 March, the Paranymph of the Historic Building hosted a ceremony to commemorate the centenary of the birth of Luisa Granero, a sculptor and UB lecturer who was the first woman to become professor of Sculpture in 1964. On the occasion of 8 march, the University of Barcelona paid institutional recognition to a woman who made an outstanding contribution to teaching and art.
Enric Galcerà, Luisa Granero’s son.
News
|
Institutional
07/03/2024
Yesterday, 6 March, the Paranymph of the Historic Building hosted a ceremony to commemorate the centenary of the birth of Luisa Granero, a sculptor and UB lecturer who was the first woman to become professor of Sculpture in 1964. On the occasion of 8 march, the University of Barcelona paid institutional recognition to a woman who made an outstanding contribution to teaching and art.
Anna Llauradó, Luisa Granero's relative, opened the event from the lectern. The journalist said that, with the act of homage, "the work and life of an extraordinary artist and woman, who fought in a world of men, post-war and hunger to become a sculptor, is being highlighted".
Agustí Alcoberro, Vice-Rector for Culture, Memory and Heritage of the UB, welcomed the attendees on behalf of the Rector. In his speech he highlighted three key facets of the sculptor: "the woman, with a great capacity for work and self-improvement; the teacher, and the artist". To commemorate the event, the UB has named one of the classrooms in the Faculty of Fine Arts after Luisa Granero, as well as organising and hosting an interesting conference on women in art.
Joan Anton Maragall, director of the Sala Parés, then spoke about the artistic legacy of the honouree. "Granero fused elements of the past, of sculptural naturalism, with innovative elements such as her way of expressing gesture, movement and textures. She knew how to find the essence of form from authenticity and freedom".
Cristina Rodríguez, lecturer at the Department of Art History at the University of Barcelona, gave a dissertation on the figure of Luisa Granero, whom she considered "the most important figurative sculptor of the 20th century in Catalonia". Rodríguez recalled that the artist taught the subjects of modelling and composition for more than thirty years. "She was the soul of the Faculty of Fine Arts, and his students highlight his contribution as a teacher, always encouraging learning and accompanying the students in their professional practice, so that they could build their own language".
Agustí Alcoberro, Vice-Rector for Culture, Memory and Heritage of the UB, welcomed the attendees on behalf of the Rector. In his speech he highlighted three key facets of the sculptor: "the woman, with a great capacity for work and self-improvement; the teacher, and the artist". To commemorate the event, the UB has named one of the classrooms in the Faculty of Fine Arts after Luisa Granero, as well as organising and hosting an interesting conference on women in art.
Joan Anton Maragall, director of the Sala Parés, then spoke about the artistic legacy of the honouree. "Granero fused elements of the past, of sculptural naturalism, with innovative elements such as her way of expressing gesture, movement and textures. She knew how to find the essence of form from authenticity and freedom".
Cristina Rodríguez, lecturer at the Department of Art History at the University of Barcelona, gave a dissertation on the figure of Luisa Granero, whom she considered "the most important figurative sculptor of the 20th century in Catalonia". Rodríguez recalled that the artist taught the subjects of modelling and composition for more than thirty years. "She was the soul of the Faculty of Fine Arts, and his students highlight his contribution as a teacher, always encouraging learning and accompanying the students in their professional practice, so that they could build their own language".
"She was the soul of the Faculty of Fine Arts"
After the projection of an audiovisual about the work of the honoured artist, produced by the Government of Catalonia, in the second part of the event, Luisa Granero's son, Enric Galcerà, highlighted "the special communion that the mother achieved between teaching her disciples and the creation of her magnificent works".
The Vice-Rector for Equal Opportunities, Inclusion and Gender at the UB, Montserrat Puig, defended the figure of Granero as "a pioneering, innovative woman and a point of reference throughout the world". Puig announced that, on the occasion of the centenary of the artist's birth, the sculpture Bust de noia, a work by Luisa Granero, from 1944, is on display on the main staircase of the Historic Building. The work, which is a portrait of his sister Aurora, is part of the Fine Arts Collection and will preside over the staircase until 31 May 2024.
Finally, the Catalan Minister for Research and Universities, Joaquim Nadal, closed the emotional ceremony by highlighting and celebrating, on behalf of the Government of Catalonia, "the resilience and capacity to overcome that Luisa Granero's biographical profile expresses, the intensity of her learning and training, and the transformation of the teaching she learnt into her own teaching".
The Vice-Rector for Equal Opportunities, Inclusion and Gender at the UB, Montserrat Puig, defended the figure of Granero as "a pioneering, innovative woman and a point of reference throughout the world". Puig announced that, on the occasion of the centenary of the artist's birth, the sculpture Bust de noia, a work by Luisa Granero, from 1944, is on display on the main staircase of the Historic Building. The work, which is a portrait of his sister Aurora, is part of the Fine Arts Collection and will preside over the staircase until 31 May 2024.
Finally, the Catalan Minister for Research and Universities, Joaquim Nadal, closed the emotional ceremony by highlighting and celebrating, on behalf of the Government of Catalonia, "the resilience and capacity to overcome that Luisa Granero's biographical profile expresses, the intensity of her learning and training, and the transformation of the teaching she learnt into her own teaching".
Luisa Granero (Barcelona, 1924-2012) entered the Barcelona School of Arts and Crafts when she was sixteen years old. In 1964 she became the first woman in Spain to obtain the Chair of Modelling and Composition at the Sant Jordi School of Fine Arts, the future Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of Barcelona, where she taught until she retired. She won the City of Barcelona Award in 1966 and has been a member of the Royal Academy of San Fernando (Madrid) and the Royal Academy of Santa Isabel de Hungría (Seville) since 1969, of the National Sculpture Society (New York) since 1973 and of the Royal Catalan Academy of Fine Arts of Sant Jordi since 2006, among other distinctions and awards.
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