Salvador Fabà i Fabà

THE ILLUSTRATION OF XAVIER CABAfaba

This anthological exhibition in Castellar del Vallès pays homage to the figure of Xavier Caba (1928-1996) The exhibition and the catalogue in your hands aim to acknowledge the trajectory of one of the most significant artists the town has ever yielded. Both initiatives aspire to demonstrate the scope of his contribution to art in its most global sense.

Xavier Caba is an artistic reference, largely due to the quality of his extensive work. But apart from this, his was a restless art, always on the lookout for new techniques. He worked in a great variety of disciplines, from drawing to painting and from photography to ceramics – a man of a kind sensitivity, a very humanistic mettle.

I believe that this is one of the most relevant aspects of his personality: Xavier Caba lived art with an awesome intensity. Creatively, he impregnated his work with his vision of life: as a cultural spectator he observed world-wisely, learning from experiences gained in the fabulously enriching Paris of the bohemian 60s. Thanks to this enlightenment, Xavier Caba became much more than just a humble artist from Castellar, locked into a local environment. His essential value lays in his ability to understand that artistic expression is a way of expressing freedom, a freedom without frontiers.

In my own opinion, this is the common denominator of a legacy that with the passing of time loses no punch, but rather gains in potency. Hence our Town Council defined a target two years ago with the intention of spreading knowledge of his work and life through the publication of this catalogue and the setting-up of this anthological exhibition. Please allow me to express here my sincere gratitude to all those in the organising committee, family and friends, for their efforts, help and good judgement over the last months.

This endeavour would never have been accomplished if it were not for the involvement of a great number of people that have dedicated hours of their own free time in capturing the life and work of the artist, compiling his art from public and private sources in preparation for this fitting tribute that, as can often happen in the art world, has maybe arrived a little late.