Side Gallery

Jordi Vilanova Bosch (Barcelona, 1925-1998) was a catalan interior designer and cabinet maker in the city of Barceona during the second half of the 20th Century. In 1939 he enrolled in the Escola del Treball i Oficis and the Llotja.

He first set up in the Casa Busquets and then he moved to the workshop of Lluis Gili until he founded his own interior design company in 1952. After a decade or so of success, he broadered his audience and in the 70s he opened several shops with permanent collections furniture, tapestry, lamps, carpets, and other furnishings, all designed by him. He was also the cofounder and a member of the multidisciplinary artistic group “La Cantonada” (1960-1975), that undertook several commissions of both civil and sacred art.

His modern designs and his approach to space were initially intended for the general public who he believed to be deprived of economic resources. However, the great majority did not understand his approach to design and was in fact the Catalan bourgeoisie, eager to break with old fashioned stylistic canons, who welcomed his work. Jordi was great admirer of Scandinavian design and is known in the design world for introducing to Spain, white wood furniture, without color or glossy varnish, functional, simple and refined, giving it a line of Mediterranean tradition. He specialised in children’s furniture, for example the stool Delta that won the Silver Delta Award given by ADI/FAD in 1964. He exhibited his work across Scandinavia. Among his most representative designs are the chairs Tiracord and Billar (1961), the bunk bed Montseny MP (1961), the rocking chairs Tartera (1966) and Petit(1978) and the magazine rack Z (1987) designed with his son Pau Vilanova Vila-Abadal. All this furniture can be seen in the collection of the Design Museum in Barcelona.

Vilanova presented his own work in “El Salón del Hogar Moderno” organized by Foment de les Arts Decoratives at the Dome of the Coliseum. From 1960 to 1972 he exhibited his work at the Hogarotel fair, with fellow members of La Cantonada, where their work was well received by both the public and industry critics. Vilanova was a member of FAD where he collaborated with Formica. He was a member of ADI/FAD, of CODDIB (Official College of Decorators and Interior Designers of Barcelona) and SAD. Finally he was the founder and avid supporter of the Catalan art magazine Qüestions d’Art (1967-74).