Joan Josep Tharrats

JOAN JOSEP THARRATS I VIDAL (Girona, 1918–Barcelona, 2001).
"Composition," ca. 1955.
Ink and collage on paper.
Signed.
The paper has some stains.
Measurements: 20 x 14 cm; 28.5 x 23.5 cm (frame).

This work stands out for its balance between construction and chance. The large black discs, with a cosmic or cellular appearance, contrast with the delicacy of the calligraphic motif at the top and with the irregular vibrancy of the spots in the background. Tharrats transforms the paper into an experimental field where material, sign, printed image, and automatic gesture coexist, in a style very much in line with the spirit of the postwar Catalan avant-garde.

The piece dates to a pivotal moment in the artist’s career, around the 1950s, when his work was moving away from the magical and surrealist experiments of *Dau al Set* toward a more abstract and informalist exploration. The combination of ink and collage reveals his interest in fragmentation, found images, and the graphic effects of the stain—fundamental aspects of his later work, especially in his celebrated maculaturas.

Joan Josep Tharrats i Vidal was a painter, art theorist, publisher, and one of the key figures in the postwar Catalan artistic renewal. He was a driving force behind the Dau al Set group and magazine, alongside Joan Brossa, Modest Cuixart, Joan Ponç, Arnau Puig, and Antoni Tàpies. His work evolved from an abstraction rooted in Surrealism toward Informalism, with a highly personal language based on technical and material experimentation. His work is represented in collections such as the MACBA in Barcelona, the Reina Sofía Museum in Madrid, the MoMA and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, and the Tate Gallery in London.