Passeig de Gràcia once again has an art gallery. The consequences that the pandemic has caused to the commercial sector have provided new opportunities for certain types of businesses that until now could not access the coveted premises of Barcelona's emblematic luxury artery. This is the case of the company Villa de Arte Galleries, which has just opened a new exhibition space in Barcelona in the premises that until last spring were occupied by the Señor tailor shop.
The property vacated by Señor is located at Passeig de Gràcia 26, between Gran Via and Diputació, next to the passage that leads to El Nacional restaurant. It has now been transformed into a two-story, 600-square-meter art gallery, becoming the third exhibition space for the Villa de Arte Galleries group in Barcelona. The premises join those owned by the company led by Bert Van Zetten in Palla and Tapineria streets, in the Gothic Quarter. Villa de Arte Galleries also has a gallery in Amsterdam. The firm defines the new project on Passeig de Gràcia as a pop up gallery, implying it will be temporary.
Villa del Arte was founded in 1999 with the aim of showcasing emerging artists alongside established artists and is a benchmark in the contemporary art sector. The firm represents more than 30 artists who exhibit in its four rooms, in addition to organizing individual and collective exhibitions.
The new gallery on Passeig de Gràcia has premiered its showcase with Pax, a work by sculptor Jordi Díez Fernández, one of the artists commissioned to inaugurate the new exhibition space. Díez's sculptures, admired by lovers of figurative art, are characterized by being made of stainless steel and by their large dimensions, which has allowed him to become one of the Spanish sculptors with the most international projection, according to experts.
Although born in Valladolid, Díez lives and works in Catalonia, specifically, he is based in Centelles, in the Osona region. His works are distributed in museums around the world and also in public spaces. He recently exhibited at the London gallery Eclectic Gallery and also in Singapore, San Francisco, and Miami, where he worked on a sculptural project for the luxurious Porsche Design Tower apartment building.