Can Framis: A permanent exhibition that is never the same

What would happen if a permanent exhibition were never exactly the same? This is the idea proposed by Museu Can Framis with “Una col·lecció permanentment canviant”, the painting collection of the Fundació Vila Casas.

The exhibition brings together nearly 200 works by 130 Catalan artists from the 20th and 21st centuries. Rather than following a strictly chronological route, the works are connected through a poetic and humanistic narrative that explores different ways of understanding the relationship between the individual and the world: from the environment and nature to the spiritual dimension, others and our own desires. In this way, art appears as a way of explaining and understanding the world around us.

The collection is structured around three sections:“La matèria com a vehicle, La realitat transgredida i El gest d’existir”, which allow connections to be established between artists and works from different generations. It also incorporates a look at the Fundació Vila Casas, both through its work in the field of healthcare and through the figure of Antoni Vila Casas, collector and founder of the institution.

But the most special feature of the proposal is that this permanent exhibition is not designed to remain still. The current presentation is just one of the many possible ways of organising the collection, which is why it is planned to be updated periodically, incorporating new works or modifying the selection. The museum even plays with “absent paintings”: pieces that we cannot see, but which are indicated along the route and may form part of the Fundació’s collection but are not on display or even possible future acquisitions.

In addition, the route incorporates Assenyala un punt, by Lúa Coderch, winner of the Premi ARCO Antoni Vila Casas 2025. The artist transforms a room into the inside of an eye and reflects on images and on the ability to imagine other futures.

At Can Framis, visiting the permanent collection is, in a way, stepping into an exhibition that is still being written, just like life itself. If you want to discover it, take advantage of the open day this Saturday 26 September from 11am to 6pm on the occasion of La Mercè and visit the museum for free.