Toni Roixes, Manresa born artist, designs the image of the 17th Fira Mediterrània

With the new initiative, Fira Mediterrània shows commitment to artists who come from the region

The image ties in with the open and pluralistic vision of popular culture

Manresa born artist Antoni Roixes has designed the 17th Fira Mediterrània Catalonia Manresa poster: ‘Man-Looks-Thinks-Loves-Sings-Laughs’. It is a portrait of a man in simple but energetic and determined strokes, in soft colours but with strident nuances to highlight the message being conveyed. It aims to reflect the process of falling in love or enlightenment. By selecting Roixes, Fira Mediterrània makes a commitment to regional creativity and a relaxed and creative image, portraying an open and pluralist vision of popular culture.

The artist

Antoni Roixes describes himself as a painter and traveller. He was born in Manresa in 1973 and when he was a child his artistic streak was evident from his drawings that filled the walls of his school and home. In 1996, after having completed one year at the Massana Art School in Barcelona, he went to live in New York, where he set up a Studio in the Queens district and began to paint works of a marked Surrealist vein, influenced by Georgio De Chirico and Salvador Dalí. For Roixes, New York was an open window onto the world and his work took on similarities with artists such as Andy Warhol and Jean Michelle Basquiat, infused with pop and graffiti. Since then, he has returned to Catalonia on numerous occasions and has continued travelling to other parts of the world. His work has been exhibited in the United States, South America and Catalonia, where he also designed two album covers for the group Plouen Catximbes (Telescopi 2007 and Ancoratge 2008 – the latter was nominated as one of the best of the year by Enderrock). He currently lives and works in Mexico.

His work

Roixes explains that painting for him is “ongoing research and the need to be able to explain what I feel, often without even understanding it myself”. This process pushes “in search of new worlds, new ways of loving and new cultures to coexist in”.

With his track record and a tendency towards expressionism, Roixes has moved away from traditional techniques in search of more direct ways to express himself, such as spray painting, video projections, installations or collages. From Mexico, the artist was thrilled to be asked to design the Fira Mediterrània poster.

‘Man-Looks-Thinks-Loves-Sings-Laughs’

Roixes created ‘Man-Looks-Thinks-Loves-Sings-Laughs’ for the Fira Mediterrània as an expression of feeling, to approach the definition of “the Mediterranean people, who are most definitely expressive”. He states that with this work “I am trying to explain the ways of the process of falling in love”.

David Ibañez, artistic director of the Fira Mediterrània, believes that ‘Man’ “represents people’s passion and creativity, feeling and reason connected by singing, one of the most natural artistic expressions that exists. It’s a good way of summing up the concept of popular culture that we want to convey”.

Roixes has dedicated this work to Andreu Riera, a visionary from Manresa (1970-2006), and PhD professor at the UAB in Cryptography, expert in electronic voting systems. He was the founder of the company SCYTL, leader of electronic voting, contracted to monitor the last presidential elections in the United States. Roixes believes that Riera is "an example of a visionary from the Mediterranean, a creative and hardworking person. He always spoke of democracy," a word that has subsequently come to dominate political debate in the country.