The main activity of Juli’s workshop is artisanal and artistic forge. His aim is to create unique and personalized pieces for each client, adapting to his/her particular tastes, needs, type of construction, etc. However, he always carries out his work with the workshop’s own style.
The… designs are first drawn on paper, although sometimes a model is carried out – depending on what is more convenient – with the aim of showing what will be the final outcome and to be able to calculate and define better what the necessary materials and the next steps to follow are for the adequate elaboration of the piece.
Experimenting is very important and an indispensable condition to continue learning techniques and to be able to achieve new effects to apply to the current needs. This way he acquires more resources when it comes to projecting.
He works with iron and stainless steel, depending on the finishes he wants to achieve or the needs the piece has in order to face corrosion. The techniques and tools he uses vary from one piece of work to the next. However, the ultimate aim is to achieve the highest quality finishes.
After some years working in a workshop of artistic locksmithing, where he acquired knowledge on materials, tools, and the usage of machinery which is found in the workshop, he discovered forge, the plasticity of iron and the infinite possibilities this material has for creation.
He then… set up a small and rudimentary workshop in his own house, he self-taught himself and wasted long hours burning carbon and iron. Coming into contact with other blacksmiths and sculptors of the country and abroad opened a new world of possibilities for him in terms of techniques and ways of working iron which stimulated his creativity.
Later on, he opened his own workshop in the municipality of Bellver de Cerdanya, in the Catalan Pyrenees, where he carries out his projects and continues to waste time and hours burning carbon. As he explains, to be able to work, one only needs tools. However, to create pieces with real value, there is a need for much more than that.
He does not have any proven teaching experience. He has probably taught numerous things to many other blacksmiths, the same way he learnt and he continues to learn from others. For Juli, non-formal teaching should not be paid for, that’s why the doors of his… workshop are always open to welcome everybody and anybody, and he himself is open to teach those who are interested in the subject everything he knows about it.
Design and manufacture of the forged doorway measuring 4.5 x 4.0 m for a chapel of the Parish Church of San Isidro Labrador in Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona.
Collaboration with the workshop led by the master Enric Pla in many works for the Basilica of the… Sagrada Familia in Barcelona.
Design, along with Oier Elorduy and Verónica Villar, of the sculpture “La cursa de les tres comarques”: manufacture, project development and coordination of the works to be carried out by over 175 blacksmiths, Alpens, 2016.
Collaboration in the design, coordination and elaboration of the grilles and main door of the school “La Forja”, Alpens, 2014.
Collaboration in many international gatherings related to forge:
Besalú, 2017. Sculpture tribute to Gaudí and to women workers. Located in the Colonia Güell, an industrial complex built by the architect in Santa Coloma de Cervelló.
III Metal Biennale in Campdevanol, 2016. Collective sculpture.
II Metal Biennale in Campdevanol, 2014. Demonstration of the craft, elaborating farm utensils and tools with traditional techniques.
I Metal Biennale in Campdevanol, 2012. Sculpture tribute to the “Farga Catalana”, designed by the master Eudald Vilalta.
Alpens, 2012. Sculpture “La Dansa d’Alpens”, designed by the master Miquel Xirau.
Arles-sur-Tech (Francia), 2009. Sculpture “FILLOLS”, designed by the master Miquel Xirau.