benjamí tous is a multifaceted painter, a child who preserves innocence, imagination and the capacity to create fantastical worlds. his is a perspective from an inner, personal, intimate world. the painter has to believe, know, that the game lies in the hand that points to the hours, the spaces, of each canvas, of each brushstroke, of each painting. the wristwatch of creativity needs bright, open eyes, with a keen sensitivity that we ordinary folk have long since lost. his painting has gained widespread recognition and galleries in barcelona, spain and the rest of europe have his work as part of their collections.born in almacelles (Lleida), in 1949, he is a true creative source who has cultivated both the comic genre – with characters such as l’eloi, who has appeared in publications in tàrrega for the past thirty years – and large format painting. the fact that he has a range of styles and that he sees art as a game, means that depending on the day of the week, he paints from a different persona, using a different style, different colors and even signing the paintings under a different name. so, mondays are blue, with alba álvarez; tuesdays are purple, with rita hevia; wednesdays are yellow, with amin ben huley; thursdays are red, with marsh huddersfield; and fridays are orange, with bennie thoussen. the weekends are green, with isidre tarragona. an artistic, deliberate schizophrenia that allows him to study all possible styles ranging from the most pure abstract to figurative watercolors.

whoever steps inside his studio (just behind the palau de la música, in the centre of barcelona) cannot help but stare in amazement. the place is stacked with paintings, drawings and illustrations. here, over 100 meters squared are dedicated to the imagination and the fantasy world of an indefatigable creator. tous’ painting is self-referential, an eternal construction that he himself defines as an autopictography. it’s about showing and sharing with the onlooker how interesting it is to feel alive. so, on the canvases we find references to writers, bars, cinemas, actresses... a veritable human comedy, inhabited by all manner of complex, ambiguous and unsettling psychologies. benjamí tous is unlike anything you may have seen to date. and the difference lies in the multilinear character of his canvases. if you were to study any single painting a thousand times, i can guarantee that you would see a different painting every time. but, don’t worry, if you find yourself lost, wanting to see the barcelona of columbus, or the busy avinguda diagonal, then take a closer look and you’ll find a typical black and yellow taxi cab. it’s no coincidence. life and art are a journey. and tous invites us to enjoy the ride.