Catalan Colors by Ramon Puig Cuyàs and Silvia Walz

Artist list

Ramon Puig Cuyàs, Silvia Walz

Walz and Puig Cuyàs first met in 1988 when Silvia, of German origin, registered for a year at the Escola Massana, an art and design center in Barcelona. At the time, she was a student of the Hildesheim University of Sciences and Applied Arts, majoring in metal design. She soon decided to settle permanently in Spain, even though she remained a student of the Hildesheim University until 1991. Ramon, on the other side, had studied at the Escola Massana and started teaching soon after. He was named Head of the jewellery department in 1977.

Silvia and Ramon decided to settle together in a small port village in the south of Barcelona, facing the immensity of the sea and prompt to jump on a boat to wander the Mediterranean. Until very recently, they shared the same studio and that same inspiring view, working in close proximity while preserving their own artistic individuality.

Endowed with insatiable curiosity, always questioning and exploring, Ramon and Silvia create delicate and dynamic coloured pieces, imbued with a deep and mysterious poetic force. Each series tends to express an idea, an impression, an emotion or a vision that was their concern at a particular time. But the most obvious of their common trends may very well be the place given to humanity in their jewellery.
In Ramon’s work, the human is set in physical, mystical or celestial worlds that he relentlessly explores. Fuelled by his doubts and experiments, his pieces embody possible answers as well as they raise further questioning. Silvia, on the other hand, frames the human within dreamlike stories that provide a fabulous and sometimes very intimate setting. By doing so, she allows chance, emotions and memories to play a major role in giving her pieces astonishing strength and vitality. Though different, both Ramon and Silvia materialize their thoughts into stunning works of art, leading us into a playful and imaginative interior journey.

Both Walz and Puig Cuyàs participated in an impressive number of exhibitions through Europe and North America. Their work is on display in some of the most famous museum's collections such as Montreal Fine Arts Museum, New York Museum of Art and Design and London Victoria and Albert Museum. They also figure in numerous prestigious private collections.
Ramon and Silvia are not only dedicated teachers who worked their whole life to pass on their passion for jewellery. They also initiated and supported projects to raise awareness about Catalan and international contemporary jewellery. They play a very active role within the jewellery community and never fail to encourage young graduates by commissioning itinerary exhibitions, workshops and conferences.
The retrospective will display some one hundred pieces: Ramon’s poetry expresses itself in brooches, while Silvia works on brooches, necklaces, bracelets and earrings.

Couleurs Catalanes happens to coincide with the publication last month of Ramon Puig Cuyàs, 30 years of contemporary jewellery, When jewellery becomes a metaphor. The book can be acquired at the gallery.