Sergi Mas: the Aixovall craftsman
Andorran art
It has been more than 60 years since Sergi Mas arrived at Duró d'Aixovall's house in 1958.
And all because of the love at first sight he experienced when that year he accompanied Bonaventura Naudi, a sculptor from Sant Julià de Lòria, who had asked him to help Bonaventura carve an image of St. Christopher for the city’s drivers ’guild. It was a month of work and 63 years have passed. He had no need of it: he studied at the Llotja de Barcelona and with a master's degree in Poble Espanyol with Ramon Violant Simorra. Finally, he took tools and family and settled in Sant Julià.
In its prolific trajectory three key moments exist:
In the city of Sant Julià we can enjoy his creations in the Sala del Consell del Comú (town hall), with the ceramic murals of Santuari de Canòlich or the Font de ferro.
It is necessary to emphasize the design of the noble room of the Consell General (parliament), the Court room, the lobby and the office of Sindicatura (parliament presidency) and the replica of the Virgin of Meritxell that the government ordered him in 1973, after the fire in the sanctuary, and which he was able to do because shortly before he has done an exact copy for the Meritxell Hospital Chapel and he has kept the templates.
He also has work in public and private collections outside Andorra, such as the glazed ceramic mural of Santa Maria de Meritxell in the cloister of the monastery of Jerusalem in Israel (1994), and other works in the Vatican and the Museum of the Man in Paris.
His work is not limited to sculpture, he has also worked as an illustrator, poster artist, engraver and is the author of a collection of La Poste stamps dedicated to Andorra legends. In 2002 the Andorran Society of Sciences awarded him the Àgora Cultural Prize and in 2008 the French Minister of Culture awarded him the “Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres” medal. In November 2017, the art school of the Cultural Centre inaugurated the Sergi Mas Room, where, among other artistic disciplines, wood carving classes are giving.
He has his own literary work, both narrative and essay, illustrated by himself. He is the author of the books El moble andorrà (2003), Cassigalls (2010) and Aspectes de l'art popular d'Andorra (2016), dedicated to the study of traditional furniture, the objects that make up Andorran handicrafts, customs and legends of the Principality. His artistic production is inspired by ethnology and popular art, of which he do a reinterpretation.
For Sergi Mas, a real artist must have passed through the hands of craftsmanship in order to be a complete and honest artist with his work. Mas preserves a rich and exquisite sample of Andorran art that he has been collecting for many years.
