Xavier Valls. Painter. Horta, district of Barcelona, 1923 - 2006

For years now, I have had the good fortune to enjoy long conversations with OTB as well as to listen to him. I have always been fascinated by the courageous way he speaks out his opinions on matters of the greatest consequence, as well as on the inconsequential matters that confront us every day. / In an age in which almost everybody tries to avoid commitment and hardly anybody dares to say what he or she thinks, Oscar has given preference to the fugue rather than the andante, to the loud cry rather than the whisper. / His enthusiasm and curiosity towards the literary and the plastic arts, as well as the thousand things that surround us, make him one of the most courageous spokesmen, breaking the monotony of those who prefer to keep their heads down. / Here’s hoping that his personality and his multi-faceted work will always be a voice raised in the defence of beauty, of work well done, to the highest standards of the artist that he is.