Joaquín Torres Lladó

JOAQUÍN TORRENTS LLADÓ (Badalona, 1946 - Miramar, Mallorca, 1993).
Untitled, 1974.
Etching, copy 7/150.
Signed, dated and justified by hand.
Measurements: 12,5 x 12,5 cm (print); 53,5 x 39 cm (paper); 60,5 x 46 cm (frame).

Joaquín Torrents studied drawing between 1956 and 1961 at the Valls Academy in Barcelona. In 1962 he enters the School of Fine Arts of Sant Jordi, and in 1967 he obtains the title of master of drawing. As a result of his technical superiority, he won all the prizes of the School, which earned him a scholarship from the Amigo-Cuyas Foundation. In 1968 he settled in Mallorca and devoted himself entirely to set design, an activity that combined his two passions: painting and theater. The following year he began his production of landscapes of Mallorca, as well as self-portraits. That same year he founded Artestudio in Palma, which would become the first modern painting academy in the city. In 1971 he held his first individual exhibition at the Picarol gallery in Palma de Mallorca. During 1974 he spends a season in Madrid and makes his first individual exhibition at national level, in the Old Home Gallery of the capital, whose success brought him numerous commissions not only in Spain, but also in Paris and London. During 1976 Torrents made a trip to the United States, and in 1977 he settled temporarily in Palm Beach, where he painted portraits of several members of the Kennedy family. That same year, during a visit to Palma, he founded the Escuela Libre del Mediterráneo, where he taught. In 1978 he painted the portrait of Princess Caroline of Monaco in Paris, and the following year he held his first solo exhibition in the principality. In 1988 he was named World Personality of the Year in Paris, and in 1990 his international recognition was consolidated with his participation in the ArtExpo in Los Angeles. That same year he exhibited for the first time in Japan, where he showed a collection of his Mallorcan landscapes. Between 1992 and 1993 he visited and exhibited three times in Japan, as well as visiting London and Venice. He is represented in the Torrents Lladó House-Museum in Palma de Mallorca and in the Museum of Contemporary Art in Barcelona, among other centers.