Joan Rabascall

JOAN RABASCALL (Barcelona, 1935).
“Van Gogh’s Sunset,” 1992.
Photograph on canvas.
Signed, dated, and titled on the reverse.
With a label from the Benet Costa Gallery.
Measurements: 81 x 81 cm.

Joan Rabascall is a Catalan artist based in Paris since 1962, whose career spans painting, collage, photomontage, and installation. He studied at the Escola Massana in Barcelona and the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Associated with the artistic experimentation of the 1960s, he collaborated on projects with Antoni Miralda, Jaume Xifra, and Benet Rossell, members of the so-called “Catalan Group of Paris.” His work is characterized by a critical perspective on the media, advertising, and consumer society. He uses photographs, headlines, and advertisements, which he combines or decontextualizes to reveal how images shape our perception of reality. Drawing on the language of Pop Art and conceptual practices, he gives special prominence to television and mass media messages. Among his series, “Spain is Different” stands out, focusing on the contradictions in Spain’s image. He has participated in the Paris and Venice Biennales, and in 2009, MACBA dedicated a retrospective to him. His work is part of collections such as those of MACBA itself and the Musée national d’art moderne in Paris.