Vernissage Paris: Joan Hernández Pijuan – Tornar a París

The Galerie Andres Thalmann is pleased to announce its new exhibition Tornar a París dedicated to one of the great Spanish painters: Joan Hernández Pijuan (1931-2005). After the Real Acadèmia Catalana de Belles Arts de Sant Jordi in Barcelona, Pijuan studied engraving and lithography at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, creating works which oscillate between art informel, syncretic gestural expressionism and color fields.

From his studio in the Catalan countryside, the artist strove to capture “the emotion of the absolute stillness of a summer day” via vibrating furrows, paths and isolated elements – a house, a cypress, an iris. Light, movement, and color combine to create fragmentary visions of remembered landscapes in a monochrome space. 

The immense and timeless beauty of Pijuan’s work can be understood not only through the motifs that capture his attention and incite contemplation, but also through his way of inhabiting space and being on earth. From this being and awareness of place, emerge the signs, traces, and marks that populate this singular exhibition.

A careful selection — made with the Pijuan estate — of intimate drawings, paintings and prints from the late 90’s to 2005 will leave the viewer paralyzed by the power of metaphysical space and silence.

Pijuan has received major awards such as the Spanish National Art Prize and the National Graphic Art Prize. He represented Spain three times at the Venice Biennale and has exhibited in renowned museums including the Museo Reina Sofía and MACBA Barcelona. His works are held in many important international collections, e.g. the Guggenheim and MoMA in New York.