ENTREVISTA INTERVIEW
Antoni Vila Casas, the last enlightened bourgeois
A
pharmacist, collector, cultural promoter, and founder and current president of the Foundation that bears his name, Antoni Vila Casas is one of the most prominent cultural figures in Catalonia. First, for his philanthropic work, but also for a keen vision of the social and political reality of a Catalonia that runs the risk of disappearing in spite of its dreams of becoming an enlightened state. His connection with the Empordà area has been strong since the early 1960s. In fact, the Foundation's first headquarters was the Palau Solterra in Torroella de Montgrí, followed by the Can Mario Sculpture Museum in Palafrugell. Barcelona came later. Vila Casas has kindly welcomed us to the offices of Espais Volart in Barcelona, where we are taking the opportunity to discuss the incredible donation he made to the struggling Miró Foundation.
and his collection helped us a great deal. My mother was able to sell valuable pieces that helped us move forward. I think that, more than being mad about collecting, we should talk about vice. I developed a desire to collect beautiful and relevant objects at a very young age. Naturally, art was the perfect place to start and my aesthetic tastes were the best way to choose what I wanted. I sincerely believe that beauty and my personal tastes as a collector are the ideal guides.
In 2019 you donated a million euros to the Miró Foundation. What did you feel? Well, it’s not something you do every week (laughs). It forms part of the Vila Casas Foundation's approach. Our main goal is to make Catalan artists from the 1930s and onwards better known. Miró is one of the best artists not only in Catalonia, but also internationally. So it makes sense to help the institution that works to keep his memory alive. In fact, one of Joan Miró's strongest points was his extreme generosity.
Has health always been your greatest asset? That depends on how you look at it. In 2004, when I was 74, I was given two years to live due to lymphoma. Thanks to Rituximab, an experimental drug that is now considered essential in treating lymphoma, I ended up beating it. However, after that stage came to an end I started on a new one. I sold the shares I held and decided to retire and focus on my greatest passion: art.
Private action to compensate for governmental shortcomings, no? There's no money in Catalonia and culture doesn't seem to be a priority. As to Spain, it's only interested in Madrid. Precariousness has become chronic and exasperating. What really matters is the desire to give back to society a part of what it has given you. I think we've lost the habit of altruism and, most worrying of all, we have forgotten that culture is our hallmark. You are actively associated with a certain enlightened Catalan bourgeoisie that saw culture as an engine and a vehicle to strengthen Catalonia and gain prestige at the same time. I suppose so, yes. I inherited my cultural obsession through my genes. My father was a serious stamp collector, actually. I was 11 when he died,
Do you also enjoy the pharmaceutical industry? Passion takes over from taste here. Of course, I was born into a family associated with textiles. My father was a lawyer, but I ended up studying pharmacy by chance.
That's definitely an Empordà story! Of course. In 1960 I bought a house in L'Escala and have spent every weekend in the Empordà region since then. But things have changed a lot. For example, when I first arrived in L'Escala, Joan Massanet, a notable surrealist painter, frequented the town pharmacy. And in Pals, a charming village nearby, pigs freely roamed the streets. To wrap up, you've said on more than one occasion that your collection covers the era from 1930 to 2030. Is it a story of your life? Definitely. I was born in 1930 and I don’t know when I will die, but I'll turn ninety years old this year. I think that a century of Catalan art, in such an intense period marked by profound changes, will be enormously interesting for future generations. In the end, every collection gains meaning if it looks towards the future. // [25]