Between the year 9 and 10

Erik Schmitz

REFUGI [shelter]

The artist Erik Schmitz assambled, live, his work ‘REFUGI’ [Shelter], the culmination of a collaborative work started last year that has been permanently incorporated into the itinerary of The Artists’ Vineyard / Mas Blanch and Jové winery.

This sculpture aims, as its name suggests, to provide shelter. In this case, the representative form of a fox is intended to establish a link with local fauna. It is a symbolic act that involves the action of people to generate this space of protection. Be aware of the need for our gestures towards the environment to ensure that, through healthy coexistence, we maintain a rich ecosystem which has a positive impact on our well-being.

The sculpture is participatory and collaborative. Once the main structure was installed, the participants completed it with organic materials from the vineyard. The desire is to be respectful of the natural landscape and reflect on the ephemeral condition and the importance of acting and protecting with perseverance, the environment. It is a work that is changing and that allows infinite interactions.

Throughout the activity, 100% outdoors, there was musical accompaniment by Lauzeta. Lauzeta is a lark, a song of melodious song, in Occitan, the language of troubadours. Thus, nothing more and nothing less is how this folk duet from Lleida formed by Nuria García and Joan Baró delves into the magical and wonderful universe of Celtic music, to transport to every place where they play to the heart of Ireland with the help of their voices and instruments. Reels, jigs, tavern songs and intimate ballads, Lauzeta is synonymous with partying and good vibes!

“The experience of participating in The Artists’ Vineyard has meant a pleasant immersion in the natural landscape in which it is located and in a family atmosphere. The opportunity to create a very special work has been possible thanks to these ingredients”

“I feel that the artwork “Refugi” [shelter] has been complete: both in the process of creation and presentation. The fact that it was partially completed with vine shoots has given it an ancestral character that has had the virtue of transporting us to the origins”

Erik Schmitz

Pictures: Erik Schmitz

Assembly of the collaborative work “Refugi” by Erik Schmitz

Eva Lootz

Erik Schmitz

Schwäbisch Hall (Germany), 1993

Erik Schmitz Coll is an artist born in Germany and raised in Lleida. He graduated in Fine Arts from the UB in 2016 in Barcelona, he specialized mainly in sculpture, but during his studies at UNAM, in Mexico City, he also learned the techniques of engraving and printing. In 2020 he finished his studies as a senior technician in Sculpture applied to theatre and in Projects and direction of decoration works at the Ondara School of Art in Tàrrega. He has participated in numerous art festivals, made works for public space, and has participated in numerous group exhibitions throughout Catalonia, Spain and Europe.

Schmitz uses art as a means of communicating and expressing thoughts. He conceives creativity as an intuitive, subtle and suggestive path between the artist and the spectator-receiver. He is interested in the concept but his priority is that the observer receives and identifies with the work. That is why the protagonists of his creations are the human and animal figure, vegetation, landscape and geography. With the theme, contrast and large format, it aims to break with everyday life, with contemporary routines and established stigmas. It also seeks to offer a respite that can lead to reflection and that reverts with a better coexistence.