Josep Grau-Garriga

OSEP GRAU-GARRIGA (Sant Cugat del Vallès, Barcelona, 1929 – Angers, France, 2011).
“Homage to Maciá Alavedra,” 1976.
Tapestry made of pita and cotton, mounted on cardboard.
Signed, dated, and inscribed.
Measurements: 28 x 43 cm; 46 x 60 cm (frame).
In this unique work from 1976, Josep Grau-Garriga explores the expressive possibilities of tapestry from an intimate and experimental perspective. Made of pita and cotton attached to cardstock, the piece departs from the traditional conception of textile art and leans toward collage and the art object, giving material, texture, and relief a central role.
With its small format—unusual compared to the large tapestries that characterize his career—the work takes on a particularly intimate and personal character. The title “Senyera” introduces a reference to Catalan identity, reinterpreted by the artist through abstraction and materiality. Its most exceptional feature, however, is the handwritten dedication by Grau-Garriga himself to the Catalan lawyer and politician Macià Alavedra, co-founder of Esquerra Democràtica de Catalunya.
Josep Grau-Garriga was a key figure in the renewal of contemporary textile art and also produced a significant body of work on paper, marked by gestural freedom and material intensity. His work is represented in institutions such as the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya, the MACBA, the Reina Sofía Museum, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.