Humour, wit and current affairs through 200 vignettes that take a look at the work of the cartoonist Antonio Fraguas, Forges, to get to know and discover one of the masters of humour and to make us reflect with a smile on issues that continue to mark people’s daily lives.
Organised by the Port Authority of Valencia, in collaboration with the Quevedo Institute of the Arts of Humour of the University of Alcalá de Henares and the Department of Culture of Gandia City Council, it can still be visited until next Sunday in the exhibition hall of the Casa de Cultura.
The exhibition “El Puerto de Forges” enters its final stretch. Next Sunday, 28th March, the exhibition dedicated to the master of graphic humour Antonio Fraguas “Forges” will close its doors at the Casa de Cultura Marqués de González de Quirós in Gandia, a city closely linked to the Madrid cartoonist where he spent many years as a summer resident.
The exhibition, organised by the Port Authority of Valencia (PAV), in collaboration with the Quevedo Institute of the Arts of Humour of the University of Alcalá de Henares, takes a retrospective look at the economic and social changes and transformations experienced in Spain over the last 50 years through the characters created by the cartoonist. The exhibition “El Puerto de Forges” is structured in five blocks with a total of 200 cartoons that cover topics such as equality, culture, the environment, social aspects and, finally, the sea.
The Councillor for Culture, Nahuel González, accompanied by Juan García, representing the Quevedo Institute of the Arts of Humour, has taken stock of the exhibition “El puerto de Forges”, which can be visited until Sunday in the exhibition hall of the Casa de la Marquesa. The first exhibition after the third wave of the pandemic has been considered a success, both for its content and quality, and for the attendance, more than 1,800 people in less than a month, a figure that will probably be exceeded, reaching 2,000 visits, if we take into account that it is still open all weekend. Visitors have filled in the mural “You have a lot to say” with words linked to emblematic characters such as Basilio, Mariano and Concha, or Cosma and Blasa, among others.
“At a difficult time for culture, the public has been able to appreciate the artistic level of Forges and the proposal of the Port Authority of Valencia in choosing an exhibition of this level for Gandia, so I want to thank the APV, the Quevedo Institute of the Arts of Humour, the family of Forges and all the people who have worked on the project. Gandia has been proud that an exhibition, which also has a vindictive and social content through humour, has been present in the most important hall of the city,” said the councillor for Culture.
González also highlighted the attendance of schools such as Calderón del Grado with guided tours, a line on which the Department of Culture is working. “The exhibition has been useful because future generations value the significance of the arts of humour, graphic and critical art”.
For his part, Garcia recalled the importance for the institute and the family that the exhibition is in Gandia, because of the family ties with the city and the beach. “It also shows the ‘forjiano’ spirit that he developed over more than 50 years throughout his career in many media; the material can be seen in the exhibition and in the newspaper El País until the end of the month. The material can be seen in the exhibition and in the newspaper El País until the end of the month, and deals with key issues for him: the environment, equality and social issues in general, his great reference linked to culture and humour. Everything and the moment, we have to bet on safe culture and that is why I encourage people to take advantage of the remaining days to visit the exhibition”.
The Port of Forges has already visited Valencia, Sagunto and Gandia, a commitment of the APV to citizenship and culture which will continue in the coming years as a fundamental objective of the port with the cities.