Albert Ràfols Casamada

ALBERT RÀFOLS CASAMADA (Barcelona, 1923 - 2009).
"Paralympic Games of '92".
Mixed media on paper.
Signed and dated in the lower right corner.
Measurements: 20 x 36 cm; 43 x 59 cm (frame).
In this painting, Ràfols-Casamada resorts to his characteristic plastic language based on geometric forms of subtle contours and a serene chromatic palette, where light tones and delicate hallmarks predominate. The composition, simple in appearance but carefully structured, suggests movement and dynamism, values closely associated with the sporting spirit and the drive to excel in the Paralympic Games.
This composition was used for the design of a stamp, a tribute to the 1992 Barcelona Paralympics.
After a brief figurative stage, the 50's gave way to a more schematic and structured conception of reality, with a clearly abstractionist bias, which he would cultivate throughout the rest of his life. During the 90's until the end of his career, his production is interpreted as a study of his own work. His compositions, stable and calm, show a structural purity taken to the extreme in which symmetry, order and balance configure the use of space dominated by geometry and the complementarity of colors.
Painter and graphic artist, Ràfols Casamada trained between Barcelona and Paris. He has received many awards, such as the National Plastic Arts Award in 1980, the Creu de Sant Jordi in 1982 and the Premio de las Artes de la CEOE in 1991. Also in 1985 he was named Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters of France. His work can be found in the most important museums around the world: the Reina Sofía in Madrid, the Guggenheim and the MOMA in New York, the Museum of Modern Art in Los Angeles, the Picasso Museum in France, the Georges Pompidou in Paris and the British Museum and the Tate Gallery in London, among many others.