This exhibition reveals the working methods of Paco Roca (@paco_roca) and the overall vision of a comic, as well as the process of creating and illustrating his work. It is a necessary exhibition for understanding the artist’s work from its inception and get a closer insight into his own particular creative universe through sketches, notes, posters, publications, audiovisual material… where we can get a better understanding of the author’s creative process from the conception of the idea through to its manifestation in the final support. In the cinema, a ‘making of’ feature gives us an insight into the basics of a movie and an idea of how the director works. ‘Dibujante Ambulante’ might be regarded as the ‘making of’ the most important part of Roca’s work and hence a visit to the exhibition is essential not only to understand the author’s work but also to delve into his creative processes and enjoy the way he breathes life into his ideas and projects.

We might consider ‘Dibujante Ambulante’ as a broad spectrum exhibition: it is not only aimed at people familiar with his work or fans of the comic-book world, but also an exhibition that will please a very heterogeneous audience in terms of ages and tastes. Everybody who visits the exhibition will be impressed by the huge variety of elements that reveal the working methods of a master of his genre, who enjoys both national and international acclaim.

The exhibition, curated by MacDiego, features more than 200 pieces ranging from 1995 through to the present day, including sketches, notes, publications, illustrations, comics, magazine work and other more personal materials. These include his travel logbooks, which are being shown for the first time, in which the artist reflects what he perceives on his visits to different countries.

The tour starts with the inevitable Wrinkles, his most well-known work, where you can see the sketches for the album, the front cover and the poster for the film. You can also see the Goya award for Best Adapted Screenplay for this feature-length animation, one of the two awards he won in 2011. The exhibition also features photos through which visitors can get an idea of the process of creating and illustrating Memoirs of a Man in Pyjamas, another work that comes to the fore in this exhibition, as the author identifies himself with this character, who represents a symbol of freedom.

About the author

Paco Roca (Valencia, 1969) is a Spanish strip cartoonist associated with the graphic novel movement. He started out as a professional cartoonist in 1994. In March 2007, the French publishing company Delcourt released his graphic novel Rides, considered to be one of the 20 best comics of the year in the competitive French market. In November, these reflections about old age had been published in Spanish by Astiberri Ediciones with the title Wrinkles, winning the two major awards in 2008 at Barcelona’s International Comic Fair (Best Script and Best Work by a Spanish Author); another award at the Lucca Festival and two Dolmen awards, as well as National Comic Award.

His film adaptation won two Goya Awards for Best Feature-Length Animation and Best Adapted Screenplay. In 2010 he started a weekly comic strip Memoires of a Man in Pyjamas in the Sunday issue of Valencian daily Las Provincias. He also addressed life in the Spanish refugee camps in France after the Spanish Civil War in El ángel de la retirada. Also worthy of mention is the graphic novel El invierno del dibujante, dedicated to the authors of the Bruguera School who rebelled against their publishers to create a new publication with more editorial freedom. This work won the awards for Best Script and Best Spanish Author at Barcelona’s International Comic Fair in 2011. At the end of 2013 he published Los surcos del azar, which won the prize for Best Work at Barcelona’s International Comic Fair in 2014. Since October 2013, Paco Roca has been alternating with the cartoonist Max in the comic section of El País Semanal.

The exhibition will be complemented by various talks during the same period which will give viewers a closer insight into the world of comics through key figures in this genre. The exhibition will also be supported by educational workshops for children about the world of comics and illustration.

In collaboration with: