Rafa Forteza

RAFA FORTEZA (Palma de Mallorca, 1955).
“Casemates Under the Moon,” 1990.
Artist’s book with texts by José Carlos Llop and etchings by Rafa Forteza.
Copy 12/25. Edition of 25 numbered copies, 4 F.C. and 6 P.A., all numbered and signed by the authors.
Edicions Tristán, Barcelona.
Signed and numbered by José Carlos Llop and Rafa Forteza on the colophon.
A suite of 10 copies of each etching was also printed.
Comes with its original publisher’s box.
It has small foxing spots and slight signs of wear.
Measurements: 26 x 30.5 cm (book); 27 x 32 cm (box).

Documented by the Juan March Foundation as a bibliophile edition, *Casamatas bajo la luna* is a notable example of Rafa Forteza’s work in the fields of printmaking and artist’s books. The edition brings José Carlos Llop’s texts into dialogue with Forteza’s etchings in a particularly limited print run. The schematic faces that appear throughout the prints encapsulate one of the most persistent motifs in his artistic language: the head and the mask understood as territories of transformation, constructed through fragmentary lines and a constant tension between figuration and abstraction.

Rafa Forteza’s practice spans painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, and installation. The artist’s book occupies a significant part of his career, with projects created in collaboration with authors such as Joan Brossa, José Ángel Valente, Antonio Saura, and José Carlos Llop himself. Es Baluard holds several of his works in its collection and dedicated the 2015–2016 exhibition *El tremolor de la màscara* to him, focusing precisely on the recurring themes of the face and the mask in his body of work.