UPF Art Track

An artistic tour through Universitat Pompeu Fabra

UPF Art Track opened on 18 May 2016, International Museum Day, as part of the activities to celebrate UPF’s 25th anniversary. An original way of linking university, art and culture opening UPF’s artistic heritage to the public.

It is a stimulating tour of the most iconic buildings on the Ciutadella campus that will allow visitors to enjoy and experience first-hand the works created for the university by such internationally acclaimed contemporary artists as Jaume Plensa, Miquel Barceló, Susana Solano, Eduardo Chillida, Antonio Saura, Roy Lichtenstein, Frederic Amat, Josep Guinovart, Albert Ràfols-Casamada and Antoni Tàpies.

One of the most singular spaces is Tàpies’s Reflection Room, the nerve centre of the tour and one of just two secular chapels of contemporary art.

The Gallery is Universitat Pompeu Fabra's painting collection that has been formed on the initial basis of the commissioning of commemorative posters for each academic year since its foundation in 1990. Following is a brief selection of works by some of the most prestigious authors of contemporary painting.

The calculations for the spectacular building of the Dipòsit de les Aigües (water tower) by architect Fontserè were made by Antoni Gaudí and it reminds one of the Basilica Cistern of Istanbul.

The interior, in the shape of a hypostyle hall, has 100 pillars that form a labyrinth of arches 14 metres high, offering a visual game with the history of architecture.

The Mercè Rodoreda buildings and the Pasqual Maragall Foundation were designed by the famous architect Juan Navarro Baldeweg, winner of the 2014 Spanish National Architecture Award. These are his first projects in Barcelona.

Highlights of his work include the Woolsworth Centre at Princeton University (1997), the Altamira Museum (2001) and the installation for the Italy pavilion at the 9th Venice Biennale (2004).