5 / 40
referencing contemporary life. Tin foil, plas-
tic shrink wrap and cell phones are rendered
as meticulously as bread or skin. These ele-
ments, taken together, depict the artists’
world: a secular, democratic, and capitalistic
Spain that has endured great change over
many centuries while maintaining its dis-
tinct identity.
As natives of Catalonia, the Santilaris also
carry an awareness of that region’s distinct
cultural and artistic heritage, which includes
a strong tradition of Realism. In the nine-
teenth century, Realism was introduced to
Spain through the work of the Catalan painter
Ramón Martí Alsina, who studied the work
of Courbet in Paris in
1848
, and returned to
disseminate his reinvigorated style. This tra-
dition remained strong in the region, and can
be seen more recently in the work of contem-
porary Catalan realists such as Roca di Costa,
Carlos Morago, and Jeorge Gallego.
Since
1978
, when Pere Santilari won
the
Epígrafe 35
prize and Josep Santilari the
Raimon Maragall i Noble
prize at the presti-
gious Sala Parés in Barcelona, they have been
in numerous one-man and group exhibitions
across Europe, and both exhibit regularly at
the Galeria Artur Ramon. In
2010
, their work
was displayed at a monographic retrospective
at the Aberlmarle Gallery in London. Their
work is featured in collections at the Barce-
lona Modern Art Museum, the Municipal Art
Museum of Pollença (Majorca), the Vila Casas
Foundations in Barcelona and Torroella
de Montgrí.
The Santilari brothers share a studio, each
producing approximately three paintings
and four drawings each per year. This is the
first time their work will be exhibited in the
United States.