COLELL JUANOLA, Salvador

Salvador Collell Juanola (Les Planes d'Hostoles, Girona, 1949) is a prominent self-taught Catalan painter and draftsman, closely linked to the Garrotxa region. During his early years, he combined his artistic vocation with teaching, a role he maintained until 1975, when he decided to fully dedicate himself to professional painting. Although deeply rooted in the landscape of Girona, his aesthetic proposal broke away from classical formalisms. In fact, during his first solo exhibition in Girona (1976), critic Eugenio Molero cataloged his style as "The Antithesis of the Olot School." His compositions—predominantly executed in watercolor—are characterized by conveying an intense load of sensitivity, tenderness, innocence, and tranquility, dispensing with meticulous details to focus on the evocative essence. He has built a solid career with solo and group exhibitions not only in Spain, but also in countries such as Andorra, Belgium, the Netherlands, and the United States (featuring shows in cities like Antwerp, Rotterdam, and New York). Furthermore, his work has been selected in prestigious contests, such as the International Drawing Competition of the Fundació Ynglada-Guillot at the Royal Catalan Academy of Fine Arts of Sant Jordi.