Stucco that runs down the generations
- Oriol started working as a stucco craftsman at the age of 16
- By the time he turned 18, he was in charge of the family workshop
- Stucco is a complex craft requiring many processes
Oriol Garcia belongs to the sixth generation of traditional stuccoists operating in Catalonia since 1860, originally founded by Sebastià Garcia Prats. Oriol learned his craft from his father in the family workshop. His education and degree in Fine Arts and restoration bring knowledge and an aesthetic dimension to his work as a craftsman. "It is purely artisanal work that requires time, patience, and a desire to learn and improve. It is a profession that helps to embellish spaces and tells a timeless story, filling our streets with colour and designs," says Oriol. His journey has led him to work with renowned architects like Oscar Tusquets and Rafael Moneo. He was also involved in iconic projects such as the Sagrada Familia, the Prado Museum, and the Casa Coll i Regàs, among others. Oriol has worked on conservation and restoration tasks in significant buildings alongside his original creative projects, and he also dedicates his time to passing on his craft through workshops in universities and professional schools.
INTERVIEW
The stucco craft is deeply rooted in Catalonia, where lime has always been used as a building material. During the Baroque and Modernism periods, it took strong root and flourished as a technique. Lime also has a special connection to the earth as a transmuting material.
I am proficient in all traditional stucco techniques but I have particular strengths in polished stucco, especially marble imitations, and castings. I also excel in sgraffito, leveraging my artistic training to give it a distinctive touch.
I work with stucco in a completely traditional manner, starting from slaking the lime and going through each of its processes. However, we extensively use technology in drawing processes, creating laser-cut borders, and more. This facilitates our finishes while maintaining the traditional approach to stucco.
Stucco is a highly unknown craft – a fragment of history that has been lost. What usually surprises people the most is the way we execute the work as a whole. If I had to choose, the most mysterious aspect would be the carbonation process, which transforms all our work into stone.
