Ángel Martínez underwent a liver transplant performed by Dr Juli Busquets at Bellvitge University Hospital on 23 March 2021. That day was a "leap of life" for him, an emotion he has captured in a painting now on display in the outpatients foyer. It is exhibited together with other pieces of the painting group 'Por amor al arte', linked to the Olesa de Montserrat’s Public School of Arts and Crafts Foundation.
"Thanks to painting, I was reborn. Now I am fulfilling the dream of sharing art in the hospital, thanks to which I also got a second life", explained Ángel Martínez at the exhibition’s opening on 8 March. During one of his control visits, to which he came with Gladys Figueras, the coordinator of the painting group Ángel had recently joined, they both noticed the outpatients spot and set themselves the challenge of exhibiting there.
"On this wall, we wanted to show our paintings, all of them made especially for this special occasion", according to the coordinator of the painting group. "We wanted to fill this little bit of the Bellvitge Hospital with cheerful motifs and bring a smile to everyone passing through here," she added.
At the opening, the manager of the ICS Southern Metropolitan Area and the Bellvitge Hospital, Dr Montserrat Figuerola, referred to the link between art and health: "Art is associated with healing processes, with positive clinical effects, and as such is recognised by the World Health Organisation".
The exhibition "For the Love of Art", which will be open until 10 April, resumes the regular art programme that had been interrupted by the pandemic.