Trafalgar Street is the successor to Consell de Cent when it comes to art galleries, and it is where Ferran Josa found the perfect and definitive headquarters for Pigment Gallery a few months ago. It is a wide and cosmopolitan street that has exchanged wholesale oriental shops for art and gastronomy spaces that have nothing to envy the great capitals of the world. Pigment was born in 2016 and in November will inaugurate a new headquarters in the Le Marais neighborhood of Paris.
Josa is clear that although we are in a digital and platform era, the physical space should not be dispensed with, and for this reason, he is opening 280 square meters to the public in the French capital. "The Paris project was born exactly one year ago at Art Paris. It was an enlightenment. I found three partners: Matthieu Delaporte, Alexandre de la Patellière, and Manuel Berquet. The three are connected to the world of art, cinema, and theater, and the idea is to create synergies. For many years, fairs have saved our day-to-day, and the leitmotiv of the gallery is based on fairs. Paris takes on a specific weight after Brexit. If it doesn't become the European capital… it will gain a lot of ground. I am the director of the Parisian gallery for all purposes: artistic direction and management."
His strategy during the pandemic was to close access to new artists, and now that everything is starting to open up, he will focus on the opening of Paris and on continuing the activity of the fairs. There are three fairs that work very well for him: Korea, Los Angeles, and Art Paris. His international presence is important, but he does not neglect the national market. Pigment was the chosen space to present the seventh edition of the Barcelona Gallery Weekend, in which thirty-three galleries participated. This event brings together professional and general public with exhibitions and an agenda of events and guided tours. Specifically, his gallery presented Space at the Centre. London 1994-2007, a selection from the photographic archive produced by Ferrari in London with an analog camera.
A life linked to art
Art has been his passion for many years. "I was deputy director of Sala Parés for sixteen years. In 2016, I opened Pigment Gallery with Miguel Alzueta, and two years later, I took it over. Now I have two galleries in Barcelona, one in the Hotel Miramar and another on Trafalgar Street. Also a mini gallery in Mallorca and now the dream of Paris. I am in finite expansion. The figure of the gallerist is important, and that's why I will be in Paris once a month."
What lines define your gallery? "We start from modern figuration to pure abstraction. What I exhibit is what I would hang in my house, and I always try to create a synergy between everything on display."
His artists include Marcelo Fuentes from Valencia, the first artist he took on for Pigment, who recently had an exhibition at the Botanical Garden of Valencia; Dominica Sánchez from Barcelona; the sculptor Alberto Udaeta; Rosa Galindo; Marta Fábrega; Aurelio San Pedro; and Juan Escudero. "In Paris, we are debuting with a collective exhibition of all our artists, and I would like to end up with a list of artists that would be in crescendo. Paris has to live from Paris, with international artists."
His artists include Marcelo Fuentes from Valencia, the first artist he took on for Pigment, Dominica Sánchez from Barcelona, Alberto Udaeta, or Rosa Galindo, among othersIn the past, Catalan gallerists ventured to open a branch in the French capital but now there is only Mayoral and in November Pigment will arrive"We are two worlds apart but I'm sure we can create synergies, like transport logistics, which has become very complicated with covid."
How did you get into the world of galleries? "My passion for art was added to my passion for sales, I am a born salesman." And how did you get to Trafalgar 70? "I had wanted to come to this street for a long time and I found this place that had previously been a gym and that met all the characteristics I was looking for: it has different environments, a spacious showroom and a good location that will be better and better. We already have Senda, Bombon and Uxval Gochez Gallery… and the idea is to create a hub where people know that there is a wide offer on this street."