Joan Ponç

JOAN PONÇ BONET (Barcelona, 1927 - Saint-Paul, France, 1984).
"3 dibuixos".
Mixed media (watercolor and ink) on paper.
Signed and titled.
Measurements: 50 x 38 cm.

In this work on paper, Joan Ponç displays a disturbing and poetic imaginary, characteristic of his production linked to the group Dau al Set. The central figure, a hybrid and visionary face, is constructed by means of a meticulous and linear drawing, where human features are transformed into fantastic and symbolic elements. The exaggerated eye, the filiform beard and the deformations of the profile generate a sensation of strangeness and inner revelation.

The restrained use of color reinforces the dreamlike character of the image. The small scattered signs and the secondary graphic elements place the figure in a mental space, alien to realistic logic.

The work reflects his interest in the occult, the irrational and the visionary, and confirms his fundamental role in the renewal of fantastic figuration in post-war Catalan art.

A painter and draftsman trained in Barcelona, Joan Ponç began his career after his first solo exhibition in 1946. In 1948 he was one of the founders of the avant-garde group Dau al Set, an essential nucleus of the artistic renovation of the Catalan post-war period. In the early fifties he participated in the main national and international artistic forums and, after a stay in Paris, he moved to Brazil, where he lived from 1953 to 1962 and consolidated his international projection.

He is currently represented at the Museum of Contemporary Art of the University of São Paulo, the Patio Herreriano Museum in Valladolid, the MACBA in Barcelona, the Basque Center-Museum of Contemporary Art in Vitoria, the Museum of L'Empordà and the Reina Sofía National Museum and Art Center.