Josep Sarquella

JOSEP SARQUELLA (Llagostera, Girona, 1928 - Palamós, Girona, 2000).
"Marina".1975
Oil on canvas.
Signed and dated.
Measurements: 66 x 100 cm.; 89,5 x 124 cm.(frame).

Sarqüella's mature landscape production is recurrently dedicated to the Mediterranean coastline and seafaring life. This "Marina" represents a quiet cove with boats beached and floating in shallow waters, arranged in different planes that structure the space with naturalness and balance.

Sarqüella approaches the motif from a direct and gestural painting, with a loose brushstroke and loaded with matter that builds both the boats and the sandy terrain and reflections of the water. The surface of the sea is not a static mirror, but a vibrant field of blue, green and ochre tones, crossed by broken reflections that reveal the artist's interest in changing light and atmosphere rather than descriptive detail.

The warm palette dialogues with muted blues and greens, creating a sense of luminous calm, typical of Mediterranean painting in the second half of the 20th century. The boats, solid but barely defined, act as visual and human anchors in a landscape where time seems suspended.

Josep Sarquella settles in Barcelona in 1949, and there he completes his training at the Círculo Artístico and Sant Lluc. He made his individual debut in 1958 in Palamós. From then on he participated regularly in exhibitions throughout Catalonia, Madrid, France, the Netherlands and Santo Domingo. He was a member of the Círculo Artístico de Sant Lluc in Barcelona, and in 1999 the Salón de Mayo in Barcelona dedicated a tribute to him.