Without Matrix 2001

The Chapel of the Antic Hospital de la Santa Creu, under the auspices of the Institute of Culture of Barcelona City Council, is hosting an exhibition of artworks produced using new technology which fosters the creation of graphic art, digital impression and interactives.

The exhibition is the outcome of two years work on the international postgraduate courses Graphic Work Today: "From the Printed to the Digital Impression I and II", carried out in the summers of 1998 and 1999 under the direction of Dr. Antònia Vilà and the coordination of Dr. Alicia Vela, lecturers in the printmaking section of the Department of Fine Arts of the University of Barcelona. The postgraduate courses form part of the European Socrates course "PA & R European Printmaking Art and Research", promoted by Iceland and linked to institutions in France, Germany and the United Kingdom.

This exhibition is possible thanks to the fruitful coming together of initiatives on different levels. Firstly, I would like to congratulate the abovementioned lecturers for their ability to motivate other lecturers, artists and scholars both from the different departments within the Faculty and from other faculties in the University of Barcelona. Also worthy of mention is the contribution of renowned artists in the field of graphic art and new media, as well as that of experienced critics and scholars in the theory of art. In addition, and also of vital importance, I would like to highlight the contribution of a considerable number of companies who provided various material needed for the experimentation carried out during the courses.

The exhibition "Without Matrix" is a marvellous demonstration of research into graphic and visual communication, digital impression and interactives, one which offers original and creative solutions and fosters a new way of seeing that is at times intriguing and incisive, at times precise, frequently distorted, and even transfigured, evasive or destabilizing. It somehow reflects the complexity of today's world, giving our harsh reality a perturbing dreamlike air.

In setting up the exhibition the Faculty of Fine Arts hopes to inform institutions and the art world in general about one aspect of its activity which, unfortunately in terms of what could be possible, rarely goes beyond its own walls.
The influence of the Faculty of Fine Arts on the art world, both in Spain and abroad, is well-known through the work of individual artists and the regular contributions of our graduates and teaching staff. In this sense, there is no shortage of either initiatives or the willingness needed to ensure that the collaborative work begun with the exhibition "Without Matrix: Graphics, Digital Impression and Interactives" comes to be an increasingly common feature of the relationships between public institutions and the Faculty of Fine Arts.

As Dean of the Faculty of Fine Arts I would like to thank the Institute of Culture of Barcelona City Council for their invaluable contribution, and the Vice-President for Division I Human and Social Sciences, Fernando Hernández, and the Vice-Chancellor for Activities and Cultural Promotion of the University of Barcelona, Salvador Claramunt, for their valuable assistance in publishing the exhibition catalogue.

Pere Falcó i Golondrina
Dean