Esther Boix's first major retrospective opens at Espais Volart for her centenary

Espais Volart in Barcelona presents 'Un món en lluita,' the first comprehensive retrospective of Catalan painter Esther Boix (1927–2014), curated by Bernat Puigdollers. Running until July 12, 2026, the exhibition marks the centenary of her birth and offers a chronological and thematic survey of her politically engaged work. Boix's early paintings reflect the harsh postwar period with a dark aesthetic, evolving after a 1957 trip to Milan toward a more vibrant palette and themes of daily life. During the 1960s and 1970s under Franco's repression, she intensified her political activism, participating in Estampa Popular Catalana and creating visual manifestos advocating for freedom and justice. Her career also included co-founding the progressive Escola L’ARC, where she promoted art as a tool for social education. The show highlights her feminist and ecological consciousness, positioning her as a forward-thinking figure in 20th-century Catalan art. Puigdollers notes the exhibition reveals an artist ahead of her time, intertwining feminist and political struggles with educational and ecological commitments.