Josep Maria Riera i Aragó

JOSEP MARIA RIERA I ARAGÓ (Barcelona, 1954).
Untitled. 1981
Mixed media (ink, watercolor, gouache) on paper.
Signed and dated
Measurements: 75 x 64 cm; 28 x 84,5 cm (frame).

This work is situated in a fundamental moment of Riera i Aragó's production, when his plastic language begins to be clearly defined from a poetic and symbolic vocabulary of his own, based on the evocation of travel, exploration and the mechanisms of movement. Made in 1981, the piece belongs to a stage prior to the consolidation of his well-known airplanes, submarines and three-dimensional artifacts, but already fully consistent with that imaginary.

The composition, of horizontal format and almost narrative character, unfolds as a sequence of floating signs: eyes, schematic boats, vertical structures, footprints, stains and lines that suggest currents, trajectories or mental maps. There is no unitary scene, but a rhythmic succession of elements that refer to the idea of displacement and observation. The space is open, indeterminate, and functions as a symbolic territory rather than a real landscape.

The mixed technique - ink, watercolor and gouache - allows a great gestural freedom and a delicate superimposition of layers. Transparencies, touches of color and loose drawing reinforce the lyrical and experimental character of the work, close to visual calligraphy and automatic writing. This economy of means, combined with great poetic precision, is one of the artist's hallmarks.

Riera i Aragó is one of the contemporary Catalan artists with the greatest institutional projection. His work is part of important public collections, including the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya (MNAC), the MACBA (Barcelona), the IVAM (Valencia), the Museo Patio Herreriano (Valladolid), the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Ibiza, the Fundació Vila Casas, the Col-lecció "la Caixa", as well as various municipal collections and private foundations in Spain and Europe.

He has had numerous solo exhibitions in museums and art centers, such as the Museu de Montserrat, the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Eivissa, the Centre d'Art Santa Mònica and the Museo Patio Herreriano, as well as exhibitions in leading galleries in Barcelona, Madrid, Paris and other European cities. His work has also been present in major international group exhibitions, consolidating a coherent and recognized career since the late seventies to the present.