Living within a total work of art

Bàscara (Alt Empordà)On the national road that divides the town of Bàscara (Alt Empordà) in half, coming from Girona, on the right-hand side stands a majestic three-story house, with a large facade of blue and ochre tones, presided over by a very unique sundial. It is Can Gustà, the residence and studio of the Girona artist Ignasi Esteve, who in recent years has turned his home into a true total work of art.

The painter has been living in Can Gustà as a tenant for twelve years and during all this time he has transformed every corner based on his creative universe, in agreement with the owner of the property. In each room, everything is placed and designed with exquisite taste. The paintings hang on the walls, dialoguing with the shapes, textures, and tones of each space, in perfect harmony with the furniture, flowers, curtains, rugs, mirrors, and small altars.

An unmistakable palette of violet, ultramarine blue, and burgundy tones predominates, combined with their complementary colors to create harmonious contrasts. The ornamentation, patterns, and fabrics evoke tapestries and natural motifs loaded with symbolism, imbued with bodies and male figures of great eroticism.

Esteve has always been concerned with the integration of art into life and has explored the possibilities of painting beyond the traditional forms of the easel and museums, merging creation with science and ecology. The artist, a student of Domènec Fita, has dedicated himself to combining his pictorial production with interventions in buildings, shop windows, or gardening practices.

Can Gustà is the culmination and definitive realization of this philosophy: "From the nineties onwards, I began to think that art made more sense if it could be shared and if it could influence common and public space – he explains–. Can Gustà has allowed me to put all these ideas into practice in my own home and turn it into a space of fantasy, evocation, and memory, pleasant and open to observation".

In the wake of David Hockney

In the explosion of forms and colors from every corner of the house, an idea and a feeling of passion, happiness, and enjoyment can be sensed. To put it into words, Esteve emulates the figure of David Hockney, who recently passed away. "He has always had a central core related to the joy of living, to the human body, to color and he freely expressed his homosexuality. When I studied fine arts, the weight of conceptual art and more critical and dark discourses was very important. I, on the other hand, have always had a tendency towards evasion, towards seeking an escape in pleasure, in hedonism, in light and color," he acknowledges. Besides Hockney, colorist references such as Monet or Matisse also resonate in his imagination.

Esteve's intervention at Can Gustà is not limited only to the interior and the facade, but also to the entire garden, as the artist is also trained in landscaping. "The blue facade that is seen from the street I painted thinking about the increasingly hot summers. It is a kind of chromatic palliation, an illusion similar to that of ancient Persian gardens, which used color to replace the ephemeral presence of flowers," he explains.

The garden, like all the works in the house, is alive and in constant transformation: "You can plan it, but nature always ends up taking it where it wants. Plants, climate and time modify any initial idea. The same thing happens with the house. It is a living space. Some walls still need to be painted, others will change color, and furniture or works are constantly being rearranged," he explains. The visits, talks, and temporary exhibitions he organizes there also contribute to the permanent mutation of the spaces.

Because Can Gustà is not just a house and a workshop. It is also an exhibition space, as the ground floor functions as a kind of open museum where, in addition to his own work, Esteve exhibits works by other young artists, often his students, without a rigid schedule, letting himself be guided by affinity, empathy, and the opportunities that arise.