Last week (November 15–18) we were lucky to participate in the INTERNATIONAL PRINT AND PAPER ART FESTIVAL (FIGBilbao), held at the Euskalduna Palace in Bilbao, just a few meters from the Guggenheim.
And we say “lucky” not only because we were able to exhibit two of our presses, but also because we could share space with great artists and, above all, wonderful people. The event was non-stop with anecdotes that will undoubtedly remain in the memory of the entire Tórculos Ribes team.
We don’t want to start our recap without first thanking the festival organizers for their involvement and support from the very beginning.
As you can see in the photos, our stand featured two CAMERON presses: the new 60×90 and the 80×125. In addition, our good friend and client Khalid El Bekay lent us some of his works, which made our space more pleasant and artistic.
One of the first things we did after setting up the stand was to visit Maite Martínez de Arenaza, better known as Maite La Taller. According to those there, she is one of Bilbao’s leading figures in printmaking. And the best part? She owns one of the first CAMERON presses we made. Naturally, it was a great pleasure to see her again and, of course, to see the works created at La Taller with a Ribes press.
Thanks to Pilar Valdivieso (teacher and head of the printmaking and screen-printing workshop), we had the opportunity to visit two “small” TC presses installed in 1998, this time at BilbaoArte. Despite some bearings affected by the passage of time (and the number of students they have supported), we could see that they are still working just as well as the first day.
On another note, we were also fortunate to host a “torkulo ekintza” (printmaking demonstration) at our stand thanks to the artist Sabine Delahaut. Her work, of course, left no one indifferent. In the video and photos below, you’ll understand why.
Throughout the event, all kinds of artists stopped by. Some were interested in our machines, others in the printmaking technique itself. For the latter, we were able to explain a few basic notions of the craft, thanks to the copper plates lent to us by Art Print Residence and the improvised class given by Claudia the day we went to pick them up. We also thank them here for their collaboration with Tórculos Ribes.
We brought back some physical souvenirs from the festival, such as a few books from the publisher Libros del Zorro Rojo (yes, Martin is a fantastic salesperson), a couple of artworks, and a beautiful gift piece from our neighbor Elían Stolarsky, a great artist and person who we cannot fail to mention. One of the nicest coincidences was discovering, four days after sharing a wall, that some of her works had been printed on a Ribes press at the CIEC Foundation in Betanzos (Galicia). Another “moment to remember.”
To our surprise, we met visitors who, also surprised by our participation in the festival, told us they had a Ribes press in their studio. It was moving to hear how each and every one of them (visitors and participants alike) spoke proudly about the presses we had installed 10, 20, or even 45 years ago. Without a doubt, this is the best memory we take from FIG Bilbao 2018.
Greetings from this humble blog to all those who, from today on, are part of a small space of Tórculos Ribes, and of course to Carles Ribes Fabregat, the father of this story. Without him, none of the lines in this article would make sense.
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