After more than ten years working as a war photographer in countries like Iran, Nicaragua and El Salvador, Xavier Raventós left his profession to dedicate himself to sculpture. In the 1990s he bought his own welding machine and began creating works out of recycled iron.
From then until now, he has exhibited his art in numerous exhibitions in Catalonia, Valencia and France. And, in fact, on March 12, she inaugurated a sculpture in honor of endometriosis at the Espai Can Verboom in Premià de Dalt, a disease that one in ten women face.
When was your passion for sculpture born?
Although I was a photographer before dedicating myself to sculpture, I have always had this concern within me. Whenever I saw an iron I thought, if I knew how to weld, I would do this or that thing with it. He always inspired me a lot. At a given moment, I saw clearly that I had to leave photography to focus on the art of sculpture. So I bought a welding kit and learned how to solder.
How do you think your career as a photographer has enriched your art?
My experiences have influenced me greatly. I spent more than 10 years working as a war photographer in various countries such as in Iran, after the fall of the Shah in 1979, and in Nicaragua and El Salvador during the course of their war in the 1980s. It is clear that you spend many moments scary, but you also have the opportunity to open up a new world and gain some impressive knowledge. All this is a baggage that I will carry inside forever and, even if I don’t want to, it will influence everything I do. I myself notice the way in which, when I make my sculptures, I have a photographic way of seeing things. Throughout my life I have grown accustomed to looking at the world in this way.
Why did you decide to put aside the world of photography?
I worked as such from 1979 to 1990. The way of working was very different from now. The Internet has revolutionized everything. When I used to spend two or three months in El Salvador, for example, doing my reporting, I had to go to the airport to ask those present if anyone was traveling to Paris. If that was the case, I gave that person a package with my portraits, so that they could send them to the French agency for which I worked. Then I returned to Barcelona, ??I had my daughter and I began to dedicate myself to fashion, industrial and advertising photography. But after a while I quit. I did not like this new way of working, the result of digitization. Before, to take a photo you thought about it more, you framed and looked at the light very carefully, because you only had a roll of 36 photographs. Now it’s pum pum pum, shoot and then we’ll see.
Then, he began to dedicate himself to sculpture. How did she learn to function in this new environment?
It was completely self-taught. I started teaching myself after I bought my first welding equipment. When I welded a piece I used to throw it into the air. If it didn’t break when it fell, it meant that it was well welded. If it broke, I would redo it until it was correct. That was how I learned.
How would you define your creative process?
To me, it’s completely comparable to the way a child plays at matching cloud shapes to animal shapes. The same thing happens to me but with the irons. When I go to buy them from the junk dealer, I feel like a little kid. When I see an iron I already think, Oysters, a bird will come out of here! And, of this other a gentleman! Then I imagine what I can do with the materials. In this sense, I consider that the factor that I do something that I am passionate about also plays a great role. So I do everything without fear. I always prioritize experimentation with total freedom.
How did you start your creative process?
I never work with previous drawings or sketches. Simply, when I am in the workshop I start to observe my irons, until, at a given moment, one of them particularly catches my attention. It is then that I proceed to execute what that specific piece is telling me.
Why did you focus on the use of iron?
It is a material that I particularly like. And, although it may not seem like it, it is very easy to work with. On the contrary, with wood or stone, one has to be chopping and chopping for a long time. I like to do things fast and soon. I don’t like to spend months and months working on a single work, as many other sculptors do. I need this spontaneity factor.
His sculptures are made from recycled iron. What is this fact due to?
Mainly for an economic reason. But also for the same properties that iron presents. I like to appreciate the innate beauty of each piece I acquire, and turn it into something new through creation. These reasons are what lead me to work with recycled iron, all kinds of old tools, scrap metal… There are times when I don’t have to do practically anything. Just put the piece on a base. There are many pieces that I already perceive as authentic works of art. For me, iron is a very suggestive material and manages to produce fantastic sensations.
What are your main references?
At the age of 18 I was in Paris, a trip in which I had the opportunity to visit the Rodin Museum. There I was able to see the work of El Pensador, by the same artist, and I was completely captivated. When I see a piece that bears a certain resemblance to this one, I try to make my own interpretations of it. I also really like making Münch’s The Scream, even if it’s a painting, I turn it into a sculpture. They are pieces that have a lot of strength and that, with very little, you can express a lot. Art itself is my reference and that is the beauty of my work.
How would you define the constructive process of your art?
My art is born from the use of very few tools, but from an immense imagination and strength. When I have to bend an iron, I do it using a lever, without forging or anything. My work results from cutting, welding and bending. This is how I create my sculptures.
In general, what do you intend to convey through your art?
Life itself. A series of emotions, depending on the work. I think that when you make a figure, for example, of a reader, you are implying that reading is an exciting thing that allows you to live other lives and daydream. If you make some lovers, it allows you to deal with the theme of love and the couple. When I make a boat or a sailboat, I do it as a tribute to the sea. Everything is a bit like that.
What is the role of art in our current context?
To this day, I consider that there are two conceptions of art. On the one hand, art with capital letters, that of the great geniuses of history. And, on the other, the art of every day, that of ordinary artists, painters and sculptors, like me. I think we create in a very authentic way and we live art with great passion and sincerity. Our work is not made for speculation, as the other type is.
He has had the opportunity to exhibit his works in exhibitions, both in Catalonia and in France. How have these opportunities come to you?
Searching and pulling contacts. I have had my own gallery for many years. First, in Port de la Selva and now I have it in Llançà. One day a person came in who happened to have a gallery in Toulouse and he asked me if he wanted to present some of my work there. Opportunities are born very spontaneously. Word of mouth is also very important.
As an artist, how do these types of events help you?
It is a way of making yourself known. Thousands of people pass through my gallery every year. On the other hand, when I go to Toulouse to present my works, I reach new audiences, as well as in Perpignan or Valencia, where I have exhibited a lot. As a result, you are making a name for yourself and a certain space. You are putting down roots and all this, in the future, opens up new opportunities for you.
Last March 12, he inaugurated his own sculptural work dedicated to endometriosis in Premià de Dalt.
Some time ago I received a call from the Hospital Clínic de Barcelona to make a sculpture about the disease endometriosis. At the time, I didn’t even know what it was. So, I had a meeting with Dr. Francisco Carmona, the highest eminence of this disease in Spain, with the Premià de Dalt City Council and with Anna Bassols, promoter of the Endofest festival, which is dedicated to raising funds for research and raising awareness among the public. society about this disease. They all explained to me what this disease was about.
Where did you get the inspiration to create this work?
At first I was very lost because I didn’t know how I could make a sculpture on this topic. So, talking to Anna Bassols, diagnosed with the disease, an idea occurred to me. I asked him: When the pain of endometriosis haunts you, how do you get? In response, she sent me a photograph lying on the sofa in a fetal position, the result of pain. Taking this as inspiration, I wanted to represent a person in this position of pain and another in a vertical position. The latter, as a cry for hope and joy, as a reminder that there is a future and that this bad situation can improve.
It is the first sculpture dedicated to endometriosis. Why do you think it is such an unexplored subject in the field of art?
I say that it is the first because Dr. Carmona, at the time of the inauguration of the sculpture, said so. He is an eminence in the matter, so I dare to say it too. It is a truly unknown subject, also in the clinical field. When a woman usually has her period, and the corresponding pains from her, it is usually thought that she is a storyteller. But really, one in 10 women suffers from this harsh disease.
What role do you think art plays in terms of giving visibility to certain social problems?
I believe in an art that opens your eyes, because I think it’s a very good way. It is evident that when people pass through the Premià park, they will see the sculpture and reflect. They will be able to read the poster and learn about this problem. In the end, art can also teach us valuable lessons about the world in which we live.
