Lluís Cots

LLUÍS COTS (Barcelona 1946).
Series "Àngels", nº 93. 2014-2015.
Mixed media on canvas.
Signed
Certificate of authenticity attached.
Measurements: 35 x 27 cm.

Lluís Cots is an abstract-figurative artist whose work moves in a territory of tension between matter, gesture and symbolic evocation. His painting constantly interrogates the world: in his dense surfaces and in his insinuated figures beats a deep concern for the human condition, time and the invisible conflicts that cross the contemporary reality. This concern manifests itself in a restrained manner, without explicit thematic underlining, leaving the viewer an open space for interpretation.

Active since the early seventies, Cots has developed a solid and coherent career, marked by experimentation with mixed techniques, painting on canvas, paper and wood, and a constant material research. He exhibited individually from an early date in galleries such as Crecelius (Tarragona, 1971), Da Barra (Barcelona, 1972) and Subex (Barcelona, 1973-1974), consolidating his position in the Catalan art scene. In the eighties and nineties his work reached a greater projection with exhibitions at the Maeght Gallery (Barcelona, 1984), the Sala Cajamadrid (Barcelona, 1988) and international exhibitions in Berlin and Paris, such as his solo exhibition at the Lina Davidov Gallery (Paris, 1999).

His work has also been part of numerous relevant group exhibitions, including solidarity projects linked to UNICEF and the fight against AIDS, as well as international exhibitions in Basel, Düsseldorf, Montpellier or Lorraine, dialoguing with other languages of contemporary European painting. In recent years he has continued to show his work at the El Claustre Gallery (Figueres), confirming the validity of a work that, far from being closed in a fixed style, maintains a reflective and open attitude.

Lluís Cots' painting thus proposes a balance between abstraction and figuration, between the intimate and the collective, where the pictorial matter becomes a space of poetic resistance in the face of the complexity of the world.

Piece of the Qing dynasty with copper bowl and bronze sculptural legs. It presents a globular body of ample proportions, decorated in relief with a rich symbolic iconography. One side depicts Hotei -a figure associated with abundance, happiness and prosperity- surrounded by children in a playful attitude, a motif traditionally linked to wishes of fertility and good fortune. On the reverse side are cranes, a symbol of longevity and spiritual elevation in Chinese culture.

The vessel rests on three finely modeled bronze legs, which provide stability and a marked sculptural character to the whole. It also incorporates metal side handles that reinforce its functionality and formal balance. The combination of materials, the quality of the relief work and the auspicious iconography make this piece a representative example of late Chinese decorative production, especially appreciated both for its symbolic value and its careful craftsmanship.