Can Framis Museum is one of the Fundació Villa Casas museums with a focus on Catalan artists from the 1960s to present times.
I am introducing a new What to Visit in Barcelona series to Foodie in Barcelona. A collection of places to visit in between eating appointments. I have a BA in Art History which I studied in Paris. Which will be useful as I share with you some of my favourite spots in the city.
First off, Can Framis Museum in Poblenou. Not least because it’s a large temperature-controlled building. Blissfully cool in the summer and temperate in the winter. Although, the entire city of Barcelona is temperate in the winter.
The museum is owned by the Vila Casas Foundation, founded in 1986 by the pharmaceutical businessman of the same name. There are 5 exhibition centers in total and this is one of my favourites. They all have the same aim, to champion and promote Catalan art. Can Framis Museum is the 5th museum and focuses on painting.
More than 250 of them in fact displayed over 35 rooms The building itself is a former textile factory owned by the Framis family. Cement heavy with arresting corners where light and dark are juxtaposed. There is heft and weight to the space that will impress even those without formal architectural training. The space is both impressive and beguiling. There is a large courtyard where temporary exhibitions are sometimes displayed.
The renovation was undertaken by architect Jordi Badia the founder of BAAS architecture studio. Besides the striking structures, Can Framis is enveloped in a green blanket of trees. So that the walk to the museum offers a rare opportunity to rustle through leaves and dive into under the dappled canopy from the trees above. During the yearly night Festival de Llum in Poblenou (which is free and one of my most loved events of the year), Can Framis Museum is routinely one of the highlights of the show.
I didn’t so much as glance at Catalan artists during my BA years. Meaning the brief explanations of the movements or periods in the different rooms at Can Framis Museum leave me largely in the dark. I react to what I see on the wall emotionally, instinctually. My favourite rooms are those dedicated to bullfighting as well as the penultimate room dedicated to the female form.
As for where to eat when you are around these parts, I recommend Little Fern Cafe, a mere 100 meters from the museum. For more Catalan fare in keeping with the contents of the Museum, there is Bar Llacuna. And finally, you are only a few blocks from Glories Shopping Center which has a basement full of options albeit still shopping center options.
Can Framis Museum
Catalan Painting Museum
Roc Boronat 116-126
Poblenou 08018
www.fundaciovilacasas.com/ca/museu/museu-can-framis-barcelona
Leave a Reply