Gandia Town Hall hosts the exhibition “The port of Forges”.
It will be open until 28th March in the Casa de Cultura and includes 200 cartoons by the cartoonist Forges.
The opening ceremony was attended by the Major Diana Morant, the President of the Port Authority of Valencia, Aurelio Martinez, and the Councillor for Culture, Nahuel Gonzalez.
In addition, the son of Forges, Toño Fraguas, has intervened online along with Juan García, secretary of the Quevedo Institute of the Arts of Humour.
Humour, wit and current affairs through 200 vignettes that take us on a journey through the work of the cartoonist Antonio Fraguas, Forges, to get to know and discover one of the masters of humour and make us reflect with a smile on issues that continue to mark people’s daily lives. The exhibition El Puerto de Forges has opened its doors at the Casa de Cultura Marqués González de Quirós in Gandia, where it will remain until 28 March to enjoy the career of the great cartoonist.
The exhibition is organised by the Port Authority of Valencia (APV), in collaboration with the Quevedo Institute of the Arts of Humour of the University of Alcalá de Henares and Gandia Town Council. The exhibition 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 Antonio Fraguas, Forges.
The president of the APV, Aurelio Martínez, the mayoress of Gandia, Diana Morant, and the councillor for Culture, Nahuel González, took part in the opening of the exhibition, in which Forges’ son, Toño Fraguas, and the secretary of the Quevedo Institute of the Arts of Humour also took part.
The president of the APV thanked the Gandia Town Hall for making the Casa de Cultura available to show the work of Forges “where the work of the prolific artist is summarised. The advantage of this exhibition is that you can follow his work in blocks. In all of them, his personality and concerns are shown. Although it summarises his work of 50 years ago, it is still very much up to date”. Martínez added that “the ports measure the pulse of the activity of society and we see it in the figures, but we also want the port to be the entrance to cultural initiatives as it was in the Renaissance. From the APV, we want to maintain this cultural facet and continue with this service to society”.
For her part, the Mayoress of Gandia, Diana Morant, indicated that “Gandia is the home of Forges. We have all grown up with him, with his humour, his criticism and the art of turning tragedy into comedy. He channelled feelings of frustration and impotence through art. His death marks the end of his work, but his work is eternal”. Morant also stressed that “Gandia is a fortunate city to be a port city” and in this sense he indicated that “the port has to respond to the needs of the citizens”.
Nahuel González emphasised in his speech that “culture is a tool for transformation, for happiness, and Forges represents all the values with constructive criticism and sarcasm. His work is a legacy of the heritage of Spanish society and a cultural reference. Forges deserved an exhibition and we are grateful to the APV for bringing this magnificent exhibition to Gandia”.
Juan García thanked the family for their spirit of generosity and the port of Valencia for allowing cultural spaces to be opened in these difficult times. He also thanked the Gandia Town Hall for having lent the Casa de Cultura. The exhibition summarises the spirit of Forges and is divided into 5 thematic blocks: equality, culture, environment, social issues and the sea. “He chose graphic humour to confront social injustices using intelligence, creativity and common sense”, added García.
Finally, Toño Fraguas, son of Forges, recalled that it was recently the birthday of his death and in this sense he pointed out that it is important to keep his memory alive. Fraguas also highlighted the fact that the exhibition is being held in a city like Gandia, where the family spent their summer holidays. “Gandia is a beloved and frequented place and we are especially excited that it is being held here”.
Opening hours
The exhibition can be visited free of charge from Monday to Friday from 10:30 am to 2:00 pm and from 5:30 pm to 8:00 pm, and on Saturdays and Sundays from 11:00 am to 1:30 pm and from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm. El Puerto de Forges is structured in five blocks with a total of 200 cartoons that cover themes such as equality; culture; the environment; social aspects and, finally, the sea. A journey through his emblematic characters such as Basilio, Mariano and Concha, or Cosma and Blasa, among others.