#BUENAVISTACERVERA – Cervera del Maestre – The City of Art
Geography is destiny. – Juan Petry The town of Cervera del Maestre is located in the north of the province of Castellon in Spain. It borders the Catalan province of Tarragona. In a particularly fateful way, it also has cultural and historical ties to Catalonia. Poor people from Cervera near Igualada were invited to build the town after the expulsion of the Moors. In return, they were promised work, land, and property. A few courageous families followed this call. For many years, the spirit of these pioneers has been preserved in village life. Outstanding people from this community have repeatedly emerged: scientists, artists, and entrepreneurs. Cervera has also repeatedly shaped the region. It lies between the interior, with its important towns of Sant Mateo and Morella, and the coastline with Vinaros, Benicarlo, and Peniscola. Cervera del Maestre has a very special connection to the movement of people and has often…
Dancing with the Dragon – CASAdelDRAGON – Spain
Jump to Special events For almost 20 years, CASAdelDRAGON, an artist residence, think tank, and laboratory for international contemporary art, has been showcasing artists from all over the world. Without public funding, without an art association to divert public subsidies, without patrons, and without regional businesses and institutions that claim to promote culture, this house has remained open all these years. Time and again, artists have sought this extraordinary opportunity to showcase their works in the over 700-year-old natural stone building; time and again, culture enthusiasts have discovered this space; time and again, creative people of all ages have gathered to fill the spaces with literature, dance, music, theater, performance art, and contemporary art. The house attracted visitors like a magnet and became an integral part of the regional art scene. Without donations or refinancing, the project was and continues to be supported by private donations. While terror, war, destruction,…
A deep dive into other worlds – expo museum Tortosa
In June 2025, we opened the exhibition “altres mons – other worlds” at the Museo del Ebre in Tortosa. The focus was on the works of Catalan artist Sonia Eva Domenech, particularly her series of circles. Drawing on symbolism and using abstract painting techniques, the artist creates space for the viewer and their thoughts and feelings. Domenech’s art is to make concrete proposals through color, structure, and geometry, without dictating or otherwise limiting the viewer’s imagination. Domenech developed and realized many of these works during her time at CASAdelDRAGON. She lived there with Juan Petry, a Spanish-German artist who has been opening his home to creatives from all over the world for almost 40 years. Consequently, Domenech invited Petry to participate in this exhibition with his current project #buenavistacervera. This artist invites people to join him in workshops to create benches from recycled pallet wood. Each bench offers the opportunity…
#BUENAVISTACERVERA – Banco de semillas
Catalan – English La concentració de proveïdors de llavors progressa a tot el món. Els lobbistes estan canviant les normes legals al seu favor. Tot passa en públic, embolicat en fantasies com la protecció de la salut, la protecció dels clients i la conservació de les espècies. Deixant de banda les matemàtiques, la ciència només pot demostrar allò que és fals i s’hauria de descartar com una teoria. Tot i això, la ciència continua permetent-se que es prostitueixi. Seguiu els diners. Encara no és il·legal fer circular llavors amb finalitats ornamentals gratuïtament. Els ocells no fan res més. El vent, fins i tot manipulat, ajuda. La contaminació durant el transport d’aliments porta llavors a llocs on ni tan sols s’havia pensat. El que queda és l’exploració artística d’un fenomen. Com a humans, gaudim del plaer. Pel que recordem, sabem que això també té alguna cosa a veure amb les plantes.…
Exploring the boundaries of a work of art
In times of linguistic confusion, accompanied by censorship and deliberate misinformation, in times when free speech and free expression are losing importance, it may seem like an undertaking to address the question of where the boundaries of a work of art lie today. But this is only an apparent contradiction. Especially in these times, artistic expression is a means of communication with great potential. One hundred years ago, the artists of DADA manifested their messages in collages and drawings, used the niche of art to express criticism that no longer wanted to be heard on the streets and squares, used the postal service to evade censorship. While digital AI may personalize this text for the interested reader, the works sent out en masse will find their way into the collective memory. But it requires careful decoding. In the post-factual era, digital appropriation helps both sides. While some use ever more…
buenavistacervera – social interaction in public spaces – enjoy the life
Social art comes on the way. The work belongs to a group of works that is oriented towards social interaction in public spaces called #buenavistacervera. From autumn 2024, many of these sculptures will be installed in public spaces in Europe. The sculpture is made out of pallet wood and therefore – in respect to nature – recycled. These sculptures will be placed in public spaces to invite random people passing by to take a seat, to relax and to enjoy a nice view. Each sculpture contains an invitation to “inter-act”. The work is a bench to sit on and at the same time a place where messages can be exchanged. Users are invited to use the bank for communication. You can leave letters and cards to friends and loved ones. You can motivate others to visit this bank (geo-tagging), search for messages or place additional messages yourself. The sculpture is…
White Dragon
In May 2024, young people and adults from Moldova, Romania, Spain and visitors from other European countries created a white dragon in Cervera del Maestre.The dragon can be found on a concrete wall in a playground in the middle of the village near the agricultural cooperative.Everyone is invited to take a selfie with the dragon and post it on social media until July 7th, 2024. A prize is offered in collaboration with the mayor’s office of Cervera del Maestre. Whoever gets the most likes and shares for their selfie wins. Details here (ESP | ENG – pdf). The story of the youth group’s visit and the story behind the White Dragon can be read here.
The freedom of art
While the offerings of religions spread before people, algorithms no longer only haunt customers but also civilians, and the restructuring of the global business model progresses, I would like to remember what gives contemporary art the strength. But freedom is not donated or given to us, freedom is something we have to get, again and again, every day. We should show it in our works. It should be motivating for what we do. Anyone who is not interested in the fears on offer remains with themselves and their power to act and create. Those who remain in love do not exhaust themselves in creative activity. Time passes quickly. The mail art is piling up in the mailbox and the production of new rubber stamps has started. Those who do not have to submit to what makes sense remain free. This is something to celebrate. So on April 24th, 2024 I…
MUARCO – the eternal archive
Mail art artists are constantly working on their art. This is driven by the desire to network through the exchange of contemporary art, to place one’s message and to perceive oneself by reflecting on the impact of one’s own actions.As a mail art artist, I receive works from all over the world. The flow of this contemporary art is a constant one. As an artist, my options are limited. That’s why I’m handing over all (!) preserved works to the Museum of Contemporary Art (MUARCO). As an innovative contemporary participant in the art scene, this museum has chosen a special way to develop its archive. It gives away this art. In connection with mail art campaigns by contemporary artists, the works are distributed to people who are interested in contemporary art in general and in mail art in particular.The mail art scene delights in the constant repetition of the mantra:…
No digas ¡Mierda! – Social Art Exhibition
Open Call for all creative people! Send a piece of art in the size of DIN A5 and one piece of art in the exact size of 85mm x 55mm (portrait) on paper to CASAdelDRAGON, Las Parras 19, 12578 Cervera del Maestre, Castellon, Spain – Deadline 30. October 2023. The subject of the exhibition and thus also the subject of the work to be submitted is the homage to a family member who died in 2023. So if you lost a person from your close or extended family circle this year and would like to create a work in the sense of an artistic statement in memory of this person, you are cordially invited to send this work. The following applies: no fees, no curator, no returns. However, EXCLUSIVELY artists with two submitted works can participate, one in DINA A5 and one with the exact dimensions 85×55 mm. The small…