Josep Grau-Garriga

JOSEP GRAU-GARRIGA (Sant Cugat del Vallès, Barcelona, 1929 – Angers, France, 2011).
Untitled, 1976.
Mixed media on paper.
Signed and dated in the lower left corner.
Measurements: 49 x 39 cm; 63 x 47.5 cm (frame).

In this piece, paper, ink, a document, and a stain come together to form an introspective image, in which the autobiographical and the collective are suggested through an open, almost palimpsestic composition. At the center of the composition is a typewritten document from the Barcelona School of Applied Arts, which serves as the material and conceptual core of the image. Around it, the artist unfolds a series of barely hinted-at profiles and faces, as if memory, identity, and the educational experience were blending within the same visual field.

Although the artist is internationally known for his tapestries and textile works, his works on paper clearly reveal the freedom of his drawing and his interest in the medium as a vehicle for memory.

Josep Grau-Garriga was a key figure in the renewal of contemporary textile art, particularly through his association with the Catalan Tapestry School in Sant Cugat. His work evolved from traditional tapestry toward material-based, experimental pieces characterized by great formal freedom. His work is represented in institutions such as the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya, the MACBA, the Museo Reina Sofía, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.