Gaudí Exhibition CenterMuseu Diocesà“WALKING WITH GAUDÍ”, AN EXHIBITION DEDICATED TO THE LIFE AND WORK OF ANTONI GAUDÍ

P R E S S P A C K

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Introduction Gaudí Exhibition Center is the starting point of the Gaudí route. To learn about the life and work of this most universal architect, a visit to the exhibition Walking with Gaudí is essential. This extensive collection reveals his enormous creativity and imagination as well as the revo-lutionary ideas that made him a genius among geniuses.

The exhibition space was opened in September 2015 in the famous Pia Almoina building in the Gothic Quarter. It consists of 1,000 sq metres , distributed over three floors. Completely privately financed, it’s a Molines Patrimonis project made possible thanks to the collaborati-on of the Museu Diocesà de Barcelona, scientific advice from The Gaudí Research Institute and technological support from Samsung.

The exhibition brings together pieces, objects and original documents. There are 20 models, replicas and designs as well as 150 metres of display cases. The audiovisual and interactive content, multimedia spaces and virtual reality all complement a visit that is an innovative technological experience.

The exhibition, which is unique, reveals the importance of one of our greatest architects and creators and will enhance visitors’ enjoyment when they visit his famous works in Barcelona.

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Exhibition The 1,000 m² of Gaudí Exhibition Center provides an unmissable opportunity to understand at first hand the work of the great architect. The visitor will discover documents, original pieces and objects as well as models and unique digital recreations, the fruit of years of inter-national scientific research. They will also learn about his influences, share his thinking and his words and understand the various sentiments that are combined in his work and discover the secrets they conceal.

This journey through Gaudí’s universe begins with a spectacular 180º video, an interactive area with augmented reality, audiovisuals created specifically for the exhibition, multimedia, holograms, scenarios, models, documents and unique pieces, among others.

It’s a journey that reveals the enormous creativity and imagination as well as the revolutio-nary ideas that made him a universal genius. He is the only architect in the world who has 8 works that have been declared UNESCO World Heritage Sites: Park Güell, Casa Milà, Palau Güell, the crypt of Colònia Güell, Sagrada Família (crypt and the nativity façade), Casa Vicens and Casa Batlló.

Gaudí Exhibition Center is housed in an incomparable building, Pia Almoina, with its Roman wall and a gateway into Barcelona’s famous Gothic Quarter..

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The exhibition is divided into 4 themed areas and distributed in 7 galleries which house:

THE INFLUENCESGaudí’s revolutionary architecture is inspired by the art and works that came before him. His points of reference include classical Greco-Roman culture, mediaeval religious art, Arab and Eastern culture. It is a combination of influences that combined to make his work a perfect symbiosis between tradition and innovation.

GAUDÍ’S WORLDS The singular nature of Gaudí’s work comes from his ability to create a fusion of opposing wor-lds. Art and science, technique and artisanship, light and shade and tradition and modernity are for Antoni Gaudí completely complementary worlds, disparate worlds that are evident in all his work.

Gaudí: light and geometry Gaudí and tradition Gaudí and faith Gaudí and artisanship Gaudí: art and science Gaudí and his era

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THE MASTERPIECES Eight of Gaudí’s works have been declared UNESCO World Heritage Sites. At the Gaudí Exhi-bition Center you can learn more about some of them. You can also visit the workshop that Gaudí used as a laboratory, where his creativity flowered and where he conceived his works.

The Crypt of Colònia Güell Park Güell Gaudí LAB The creator of forms The Sagrada Família

THE LEGACYGaudí was ahead of his time. Many of his contemporaries never understood what he was doing and it was decades before his singular and visionary work began to be appreciated. He has inspired painters, sculptors and architects and the mark he has made on art and knowledge makes him a genius among geniuses.

There is a lot to know about this great Catalan architect; an architect and designer who made dreams reality, a master of light and colour, an innovator within the tradition, secretly a sci-entist, a designer of social spaces, a man true to his origins and beliefs, an avant-garde artist, a precursor of the future.

The exhibition includes details of some of the master’s most universally loved works such as Colònia Güell, Park Güell and the Sagrada Família, showing his original working methods and above all the unusual models he made in order to realise his works. In the famous polifunicu-lar models, Gaudí tested his vision in three dimensions and then translated it to his buildings which are considered masterpieces of architecture. This invention led to new discoveries in architectural forms, all based on an analysis of nature and his understanding of the geometry of space.

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At the end of the tour there are homages to Gaudí from artists such as Salvador Dalí, Miró and Picasso. We will also see how great 20th century architects have admired Gaudí and consider his methods still revolutionary today, among them Le Corbusier, Félix Candela, Kenji Imai, Oscar Niemeyer, Frei Otto, Frank Ghery, Arata Isozaki, Enric Miralles, Norman Foster, Zaha Hadid, Jean Nouvel, Toyo Ito and Shigeru Ban.

Gaudí’s new architecture opened unexplored paths of which traces can be found in the work of these notable architects, although each with their original imprimatur. As Gaudí himself said: “Creation continues and the Creator values his own creations. Those who stay close to the laws of nature in their works are working with the Creator. Those who merely copy are not. That’s why originality consists in going back to the source.”

The entire tour is accompanied by an audio guide available in 10 languages (Catalan, Spanish, English, French, German, Italian, Russian, Japanese, Mandarin and Korean) giving the visitor the opportunity to develop a deeper understanding of Antoni Gaudí’s rich and many-faceted personality. This makes the experience special and unique.

In conclusion, the Gaudí Exhibition Center celebrates one of our greatest architects and cre-ators, ensuring the promotion and dissemination of the life and work of Gaudí.

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The promoters MOLINES PATRIMONIS Molines Patrimonis is the trade name of the Andorran family Casa Molines, S.A. It was es-tablished in 2000 in order to manage the heritage of Cardelús-Maestre family. As well as its significant business and financial activities, Molines Patrimonis has played an active role in other aspects of Andorra’s social and cultural life.

The Jaciment de la Roureda de la Margineda is a good example. In 2007 these mediaeval ruins were discovered and it became one of the most important archaeological sites in Andorra and the southern Pyrenees. It lies on land that belongs to the Cardelús Maestre family and, since it was discovered, Molines Patrimonis has financed several excavations of the site.

Casa Molines, during the family’s long history, has frequently acted as a patron, contributing to the building and maintenance of important public infrastructures in the Principality such as roads, schools, nursery schools and medical centres and has funded a wide range of studies and other causes.

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THE BARCELONA DIOCESAN MUSEUM (MUSEU DIOCESÀ DE BARCELONA) The Museu Diocesà de Barcelona, which celebrated its centenary in 2016, is dedicated to the conservation and promotion of its valuable collection through an ambitious program of temporary exhibitions. The research the museum carried out about Antoni Gaudí has borne fruit in various temporary and itinerant exhibitions in Madrid and Zaragoza that have presen-ted the Gaudí works among its collection. The Church has not only been one of the principal promoters of the arts but also the conservation of the cultural heritage.

Since 1988 the museum has been housed in the Pia Almoina. The building was originally a charitable institution founded by the canon of Barcelona in 1009 to aid the poor and pilgrims. It has stood in the same place since the 12th century and is built into the Roman wall. The Pia Almoina is made up of two parts: the Gothic, the lateral façade and the steps down to the Seu square, and the other Renaissance, from around 1546.

The building, which was declared a national monument in 1970, conserves significant archi-tectural and archaeological features: remains of an early Roman wall from the 1st century BC, a tower and fragments of a wall from 4th-century Barcino, a Visigothic capitol, Romanesque and Gothic windows, a Renaissance staircase and colonnaded gallery, among others. In order to install the museum various changes were made such as the installation on the ceiling in the top floor on the beams of the Episcopal Palace of heraldic decorations and Kufic script.

The Museu Diocesà de Barcelona’s collection comprises works that embrace 2,000 years of history. The majority come from the old arch-diocese of Barcelona, and also from other sources.

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Scientific advisor The Gaudí Research Institute was created to lead R&D&I projects and also as a response to the desires of international researchers with long careers spent studying Gaudí who were ca-lling for a place to go. After a century, there was a pressing need and obligation for Gaudí to be recognized and studied in his homeland as the universal genius he was.

The TGRI collaborates with international universities and institutions. The agreement signed with the Universitat de Barcelona to undertake numerous projects over the next twelve years is a highlight. The Gaudí 1st World Congress held in 2014 was the first of these projects, brin-ging together researchers from around the world at the historic building of the Universitat de Barcelona.

The central office of the TGRI is in Colònia Güell. This is where Gaudí set up his laboratory for research and innovation, research he would later apply to his greatest work: Sagrada Família. The aims of the TGRI are to become the center of reference for the study, interpretation and dissemination of Gaudí; to apply Gaudí’s method to the management, innovation and creation of architecture, spaces and objects; to create work projects and business and commercial solu-tions with present applications; and to take advantage of research to act in the spheres of eco-nomics, business, engineering, architecture, sustainability, tourism and cultural production.

The TGRI aims to become a center for creative industry that generates solutions that can be transferred to architecture and other arts but which can also be applied in other areas, especi-ally business and commerce.

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Technology partner The search for new sensory and creative boundaries is shared by art and technology. Throughout history, it has been unique artists like Antoni Gaudí who have revolutionized their fields of expression in an ongoing quest for technical perfection and original beauty. This is why it is a privilege for Samsung, as a company with innovation permeating its DNA, to participate as technology partner with the exhibition Walking with Gaudí that has now ope-ned at Gaudí Exhibition Center, a place destined to become a point of reference for art and culture worldwide.

The fantastic worlds imagined by Gaudí would find an excellent form of expression in today’s digital culture.

In a perfect blend of fact and fiction, magic and illusion, virtual reality technology offers new experiences capable of stimulating all senses. Samsung’s intention is for visitors to enter Gaudí’s universe through his own works, relying on technology to create an interactive space. The result is a journey through the history of the cultures that influenced the Catalan archi-tect, making use of his genuine three-dimensional vision in universal works like Park Güell and Sagrada Família.

Holograms, sets, models and original pieces will surprise visitors and allow them to venture into the legacy of Antoni Gaudí, a symbol of creativity and sustainability.

This collaboration is part of Samsung’s current commitment to the cultural sector, with which it maintains strong ties.

The company’s support for culture stems from the conviction that culture is an essential ele-ment for the personal and social development of all citizens of the world.

All of Samsung’s activities and its strong investment in R&D and ongoing technology rese-arch are aimed at a single objective: improving people’s lives.

Along the way, the company’s innovation creates the future and inspires new applications and uses for technology. Today Gaudí’s legacy and Samsung’s powerful technology combine in the unique space of Gaudí Exhibition Center to continue imagining and enjoying the fantasy tied to art.

Celestino García Corporate vice president of Samsung Spain

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Walking with GaudíBarcelona holds most of the work of Antoni Gaudí, a basic factor that defines the background of creativity, innovation and design that define it. Gaudí is the architect with the most World Heritage Sites. But do we know how this man has transported us to new states of conscious-ness? What do we know about the many facets of this genius –about his capacity for inven-tion, his innovative techniques, the rationality, functionality and symbolism of his works?

The exhibition Walking with Gaudí will enable us to find the answers to these mysteries and allow us to enjoy Gaudí fully. It will allow us to rediscover an incomparable building, the Pia Almoina monument with its Roman wall, a true portal to Barcelona’s famous Gothic Quarter and a place of shelter for those in need for centuries. It will allow us to take in the Museu Di-ocesà de Barcelona’s collections of masterworks spanning two millennia with commentary from Gaudí himself. It will amaze us with a unique collection of original works by Gaudí. It will enable us to delve into the magical world of new technologies thanks to Samsung and the extensive work of international researchers from numerous universities within what has been named Gaudí Exhibition Center.

All of this shapes a new and incredibly rich space, a new recreational space, a new space for knowledge, a new space where original works can be discovered by the public, a new space where technology and research are placed at the service of the people, a bold new space that addresses one of the most exuberant, surprising and unique personalities in the history of the world: Gaudí.

Walking with Gaudí is returning to the origin to be original, as Gaudí said in one of his most famous quotes. His voice will guide us along its enigmatic paths: the Earth, nature, faith, tra-dition, places, materials, Mediterranean light, colors, history, craft, thought, the nation, social concern, technical and scientific mastery, rationality and service to the people, the search for beauty and more. In Walking with Gaudí we will discover the worlds that influenced Gaudí and share in his fascinating journey towards new worlds he discovered with his talent and extraordinary technique.

Pere Jordi Figuerola Rotger Curator of the exhibition Walking with Gaudí Curator of the Museu Diocesà de Barcelona

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Developers:GAUDI EXHIBITION S.L. A Company of Molines PatrimonisMUSEU DIOCESÀ DE BARCELONAJosep Maria Martí Bonet, directorPere Jordi Figuerola Rotger, conservadorBlanca MontobbioMartorell, conservadora

Curator:PERE JORDI FIGUEROLA ROTGER

Scientific management and coordination:THE GAUDÍ RESEARCH INSTITUTEManuel MedardeSagreraPere Jordi Figuerola RotgerMariàMarín i Torné

Project design and management:VARIS ARQUITECTES S.L.P.Dani FreixesLali GonzálezVicenç Bou

Project coordination and operation: INITIA OBRAS

Audiovisual guide:MARC ROSICH I MARTÍ

Coordination of the installation:Blanca MontobbioMartorell, coordinadoraJoana Alarcón HernándezGemma PallàsPuyol

Research project on the reconstruction of the church of ColòniaGüell:UNIVERSITAT D’INNSBRUCKRainerGraefe, directoren cooperació amb la UNIVERSITAT ESTATAL DE GEODÈSIA I CARTOGRAFIA DE MOSCOULeonidDemjanov, directorCÀTEDRA D’HISTÒRIA DE LA CONSTRUCCIÓ I DEL PATRIMONI ARQUITECTÒNIC DE LA UNIVERSITAT D’INNSBRUCKRainerGraefe, directorBea FröisAlex del BelloVerenaDarnaiDaria DellaiThomas FerkAlfred GuflerThomas WalderMichael MoserJuriNindl

3D video of the project model of the church of ColòniaGüell:Anton LyubimkinEkaterina LyubimkinaSergey Shesterenko(film)

3D video of the reconstruction of Gaudí’ssecond polyfunicularmodel for Park Güelland the architectural project for its chapel:Thomas FerkSergey Shesterenko(film)

Polyfunicularmodel of the large central nave of Sagrada Família:BEA FROÏS

Restorations:ATELIER DO TEMPO, S.L.Bea Montobbio MartorellNúria Piqué i FontMireia Piqué i BarreraNatàlia Noguera i MonserratRosaura Janói Reina

Graphic design:FONS GRÀFIC, S.L.

Museum stands:CROQUIS, DISSENY, MUNTATGES I REALITZACIONS S.AEBANISTARIA GOMAR BD BARCELONA 1972, S.L.JUAN JOSÉ ARIAS MÁRQUEZ

Audiovisual installations:SONO TECNOLOGIA AUDIOVISUAL, S.L.

Lighting:HAZ LUZ 17 S.L.U.

Audiovisual productions:AVALON MULTIMEDIA S.L.ANTAVIANA FILMS VFX & POSTPRODUCTIONNOUPUNT 360, S.C.P.

Sets and properties:MIGUEL GARIGLIANOTALLER D’ESCENOGRAFIA JORDI CASTELLS, S.C.P.SUSANA CANALS

Graphic design and production:LLUIS BURCH & JUNIOR, S.C.P.

Translations:LA CORRECCIONAL (SERVEIS TEXTUALS), S.L.POLISEMIA, S.L.

Web development:LAMAGNETICA.COM

Interactivity:PING PONG TECHNOLOGIES

Technology partner: SAMSUNG

Acknowledgements:The organizers would like to express their thanks and appreciation to the following individuals, organizations and institutions that have made this exhibition possible with their collaboration.ALBERT CRUELLS • ARCHIVO PHOTAISA, S.L. • ARXIU DIOCESÀ DE BARCELONA • ASSOCIACIÓ LA COLÒNIA MODERNISTA (COLÒNIA GÜELL) • BAR-CELONA FILM COMMISSION • BASÍLICA DELS SANTS JUST I PASTOR DE BARCELONA • BIBLIOTECA PÚBLICA EPISCOPAL DEL SEMINARI DE BARCE-LONA • CASA BATLLÓ, S.L.U. • CENTRE EXCURSIONISTA DE CATALUNYA • COL·LECCIÓ LUIS GUEILBURT, ESCULTOR • COL·LEGI SANTA TERESA DE GANDUXER • CONGREGACIÓ DE L’ORATORI DE SANT FELIP NERI DE BARCELONA • CONSORCI DE LA COLÒNIA GÜELL • FAMILIA GUILERA –TORRE BELLESGUARD • FILMOTECA ESPAÑOLA • FILMOTECA DE CATALUNYA • FUNDACIÓ CATALUNYA LA PEDRERA • FUNDACIÓ INSTITUT AMATLLER ART HISPANIC • FUNDACIÓ ORFEÓ CATALÀ-PALAU DE LA MÚSICA CATALANA • INSTITUT CATALÀ DE LES EMPRESES CULTURALS • LLUÍS BONET I ARMENGOL • MANUEL BARRAGÁN GÓMEZ • MARTA PUIG DÒRIA • MICHIKO MATSUKURA • MOLINES PATRIMONIS • PARRÒQUIA DEL SAGRAT COR DE LA COLÒNIA GÜELL (SANTA COLOMA DE CERVELLÓ) • PERE CÀNOVAS APARICIO • ROGER POU CIRUELO • SV PROJECTS • TADANOBU KAWAGUCHI • THE GAUDÍ RESEARCH INSTITUTE • TOSHIAKI TANGE • TRIANGLE POSTALS, S.L. • TV3 –TELEVISIÓ DE CATALUNYA • VICENS GAUDÍ SOCIMI S.A.U.

Creative commons:Carlinhos75, Wondereye, Aurelien Guichard, Loizeau, Felipe Gabaldón, Detlef Schobert, Francisco Anzola, Helene_MARIA, Bjørn Christian Tørrissen, Wolfgang Moroder, Diliff, ProtoplasmaKid, Diliff, Diego Delso, Canaan, Oh Barcelona.The recordings of Casa Vicenswas provided by VICENS GAUDÍ SOCIMI S.A.U., who owns it.Carles Salillasis the author of the photos of Torre Bellesguard.

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Gaudí Exhibition CenterMuseu DiocesàPla de la Seu, 708002 Barcelona Tel. 93 268 7582

OPENING HOURS:Monday to Sunday and public holidays WINTER (November 1 – February 28) from 10 to 18 hSUMMER (March 1 - October 31) from 10 to 20 h

TICKETS: from 7,5 € to 15 €For discounts see museum website. FURTHER INFORMATION: www.gaudiexhibitioncenter.com info@gaudiexhibitioncenter.com

PRESS CONTACT:press@gaudiexhibitioncenter.com+34 931 593 707