128 A Passion for Himalayan Masks An Encounter with Rosa Amorós TRIBAL People By Elena Martínez-Jacquet An impassioned and fascinating personality hides behind Rosa Amorós’ frail and discreet appearance, and her eyes light up when the word “art” is mentioned. A recognized artist in her native Spain, her life was centered around her studio and at the Escola Massana in Barcelona, an art and design center where from 1971 until 2005 she taught ceramic arts, the discipline in which she most distinguished herself creatively. She was also a regular presence at museums, exhibition venues, and art fairs. She shared twenty years of her life with Gustavo Gili, an editor and book publisher specialized in the engravings of great Western artists such as Picasso, Miró, Saura, Michaux, among many others, as well as in art, design, and architecture, prior to his passing in 2006. Together they assembled a tribal art collection that is as eclectic in its composition as it is coherent in spirit. A group of about 100 Himalayan masks has a preeminent place am ong the many works from Oceania, Africa, and southern and western Asia that make up her collection. Just prior to the opening of the Museu de Cultures del Món in Barcelona, Rosa hosted us in her studio to talk about her fascination with Himalayan art and about her journey as a tribal art collector, which she largely pursued outside the major centers for tribal art. Tribal Art Magazine: Judging by your activities and relationships, it seems like modern art might be your natural milieu, just as it was Gustavo’s, yet you became collectors of non-European art. How did that come about? FIG. 1 (above): Rosa Amorós in her apartment in Barcelona. At the center of the cabinet behind her is the first Himalayan mask acquired by her and her partner, Gustavo Gili. © Pau Aguilar. FIGS. 2–5 (right): Group of four Himalayan masks from Nepal and India that were included in Enigmas de las Montañas, in Cuenca in 2005 and later in Guyancourt. © Roco Ricci.
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