Vila Arrufat trained mainly with his father, Joan Vila i Cinca, at the Llotja School in Barcelona, and he completed his studies at the San Fernando Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Madrid. Following his training, he travelled in Paris on a scholarship from Sabadell City Council, and he later went to Italy. He was part of La Colla de Sabadell, a group that brought together poets, critics, writers, intellectuals and artists during the 1920s and 30s. He also did mural painting, especially of religious subjects, and engraving. He was professor of engraving at the Llotja School from 1949 to 1958, where he was known for the design of special tools and experiments with various types of acids and resins. He also designed logos, creating the logo for Sabadell Swimming Club in 1918 and that of the Academy of Fine Arts in 1928, which are still used today. His work developed within a classicism that often focused on figures and maternities, characterised by their sharpness and the noucentista serenity of their setting. The image of his wife is persistent; he painted her more than any other subject, both in portraits and as a model.