May, 2026. A new work by Lita Cabellut brings light to the Historic Building at the top of the Stairway of Honour in the Rector's Office. “Llum” [Light] consists of two pieces: a 290 × 400 cm canvas and a bench from which to observe it at leisure.  The work reflects the UB's importance as a creator of knowledge and light, conveying the significance of education as an inalienable human right and the only viable path to achieving progress and ethical and intellectual development.

Freedom, knowledge, light, and darkness are concepts that form an indissoluble part of the University of Barcelona's 575 years of history. The vicissitudes of this history are portrayed as of today in Llum, the work created by Lita Cabellut as a tribute to mark the 575th anniversary of the UB, intended to reflect its importance as a creator of knowledge and light. Cabellut unveiled her creation today alongside the Rector of the University of Barcelona, Joan Guàrdia, and the curator Eloy Martínez de la Pera.

The new work, which has been installed in the Historic Building, consists of two parts: a 290 × 400 cm canvas hung at the top of the Stairway of Honour in the Rector's Office and a bench located in the building's main vestibule next to the work of the sculptor Jaume Plensa and in front of the statue of Alfonso X. In the words of the artist herself, the bench invites users of the Historic Building to observe the canvas at their leisure: "You sit down, take a breath, and, for a moment, you are simply there. You cease to feel that you are there. It's an instant stolen from the noise, a few moments during which the world goes on without you."

The work overflows with symbolism. The bench now installed at the UB was once the artist's "refuge" in Plaça Reial in Barcelona during her childhood years, spent predominantly on the city's streets. Llum can therefore be said to reflect Lita Cabellut's progression as an artist, bearing witness to the power of resilience in the face of adversity and interweaving aspects of her personal and professional life, reminding us that art has the capacity to heal and inspire.

"The colours of Llums are earth, shadows, vibrant and muted, the white of the bone, the black of uncertainty." This is how Cabellut describes the range of colours that dominate her work, and which evoke aspects of her personal journey. The contrast between light and darkness is present throughout the canvas: "The light of knowledge does not dispel the darkness, it traverses it. It is only when we stop, observe and ask questions that we begin to see it".

Joan Guàrdia, Rector of the University of Barcelona,  defines Llum as "a powerful, potent and grand image that will forever stand in testament to the University of Barcelona's creation of light. This is not just any light, it is the light that is created when trust, hope, and clarity are brought together", he adds, concluding: "With knowledge and life is how university should be enjoyed, and knowledge and life is what Lita Cabellut's work conveys." 

But the path to knowledge is not straightforward. "Llum represents the light and shade of the journey. The light that, when we doubt, when we fall, in the vertigo that the greatness of knowledge can induce, is always there and to which we must cling,” says Cabellut.

"Llum is the imprint of all those of us who embark on the path of knowledge, leaving what we have learned behind," she concludes.

More info on the website of the University of Barcelona. Click here