Exode R.D.C.Coltan Suite

“Coltan Suite”, pictorial memory Art has always been a reflection of its time. Its power to reflect and critique social situations, sometimes manifesting itself in a subtle manner that is more or less evident, and at other times resulting in intense and committed art works. This is the case we are considering in this book: immersion in a situation of war and human degradation in which the artist converts through his work the anecdote, the terrible anecdote, offered to us by the universal media. Once again, the exodus of a people, with the consequent uprooting and loss of identity, to become refugees makes the news in the press however, because our memory is so ephemeral, Josep M. Rosselló has proposed classifying this fact so that, through reflection and the creation of a coltan environment, its consequences and the works it produces, this conflict will remain in our cultural imagination. Although I constantly follow the creative path of Josep M. Rosselló and am familiar with the process of developing the “Coltan Suite”, when I saw it all together in this publication, with the texts he himself had written, as a reflection upon and a justification for his work, I was transported to the beginning of the 20th century, to German expressionist painting. In my view, what connects the work of Josep M. Rosselló to expressionism, beyond the aesthetic  component of these paintings, are the two facets of his work. On the one hand, the relationship it establishes with the observer when he translates his emotional experience to the visual projection of his works, thus expressing his internal need to express unresolved conflicts in a supposedly stable society (as Peter Selz describes it in German Expressionist Painting, Madrid: Alianza Forma, 1989). On the other hand, this constant of Josep M. Rosselló to write and accompany his works with texts that help reflect upon his work and at the same time offer the observer arguments to corroborate, question or refute his proposals. “Coltan Suite”, given its harshness and reflection, will leave no-one indifferent. Society responds to specific stimuli, but soon fterwards the protective armour surrounds us once again so that we may continue on our way. It is important that art is able to arouse concerns and shared sentiments. Josep M. Roselló i Virgili (1950) He was born in Tarragona in 1950. He studied at the Tarragona School of Art, at the Sant Jordi School of Fine Art and at the Massana School in Barcelona, where he studied engraving. Text by Rosa Ricomà.