Joan Brossa

JOAN BROSSA CUERVO (Barcelona, 1919 - 1998).
"Country".1988.
Poem-object, issue 6/10.
Signed and numbered on the base.
In methacrylate urn.
Provenance: Joan Prats Gallery, Barcelona.
This sculpture represented Spain at the Venice Biennale in 1997.
Measurements: 42,3 x 31 x 31 cm.

In this poem-object, the pinnacle of the artist's production, Joan Brossa carried out a metonymic game: the "country" of soccer (ball) and folklore (comb), quintessence respectively of the masculine and feminine stereotype in the eyes of the European. The antithesis between the feminine (hair ornament associated with Andalusian folklore and traditional weddings) and the masculine (soccer players) is also between the old (costumbrismo) and the new, sport as a new industry-brand.

The poet and multifaceted artist Joan Brossa was co-founder of "Dau al Set", and throughout his career he received the Lletra d'Or, City of Barcelona, the UNESCO Picasso Medal, the National Plastic Arts Award, the Gold Medal for Merit in Fine Arts and the National Theater Award from the Generalitat. His visual poetry and his posters constitute the best known part of his work, to the point that in this field Brossa has become a world reference. He has been the subject of anthological exhibitions in galleries and museums in Spain, Germany, France, the United Kingdom and Brazil, among other countries.