A complete set of all the works has been given to the Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona (MACBA) and will be added to the museum’s documentary archive.
An initiative was started in 2002 out of recognition and gratitude to the city’s firefighters for their devotion, spirit to serve and vocational commitment. The project consisted of presenting the service with a unique and exclusive lithograph for all members, with an initial print run of a thousand numbered and signed copies.
The initiative was a success and to date nineteen artists have contributed to the collection with their work, with a new piece added each year. Because of this the Barcelona Fire Service has decided to give a complete set of the lithographs to the Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona. The set has been in the possession of the museum archive since 15 December, as a display of Catalan art.
The donated items will not go on display yet, and from now on the corresponding lithograph presented every year will be added to the collection.
The Barcelona Fire Service would like to thank the artists for their collaboration, as well as all the individuals, organisations and companies for their dedication and contributions, giving continuity to this project linking art and life.
Lita Cabellut, author of the lithograph for 2020
The title for this year’s work is Antares, the name of the character in Greco-Roman mythology who was the rival of Mars /Ares, the gods of war. According to Lita Cabellut, the author of the work, “Antares contains that moment of power, of fire, of rescue, with no visible face to it, with the universalness of the rescued and the rescuer. The red of blood, of fire and of bravery. The value of unhesitatingly offering their ethic for saving lives”.
Lita Cabellut (Sarinyena, Huesca, 1961), diminutive of Manuelita, is a multi-disciplinary artist who grew up in Barcelona and now lives in Holland. She uses various art techniques and disciplines in her work: oil painting, sketching, sculpture, photography, poetry, visual poetry and video.
Her painting style, influenced by Goya and Dutch Baroque, uses large canvasses with a fresco technique. Her photorealism also stands out, with portraits of prostitutes, pimps, tramps and sophisticated women with poignant biographies (such as Coco Chanel, Frida Kahlo and Anne Frank).
Her work makes the case for the universality of art which describes the reality of the human condition (worry and the commitment to the human being) through the expressiveness and vivacity of skin, the outer layer of the body which reveals the passing of time and lays bare the cruelty, power, character and anguish of the most emotive instants of human existence.
In 2011, she received the Gypsy Culture Award from the Spanish Institute for Gypsy Culture, in the visual arts and painting section. The award recognised her work to benefit gypsy culture in the world, and in 2015 she was recognised by the specialist magazine Artprice as one of the most valued contemporary artists in the world. In 2017 she collaborated with the theatre set for the Festival d’Òpera.
The Dutch government recently named Lita Cabellut as Holland’s artist of the year 2021.
All the works of art will be available shortly on the website for the Barcelona Fire Service.