Collection: Joan-Josep Tharrats

Joan-Josep Tharrats i Vidal (Gerona, March 5, 1918 - Barcelona, ​​July 4, 20011) was a Spanish painter, art theorist and editor.

He exhibited individually for the first time in 1949 at the El Jardín Galleries in Barcelona, ​​and since then he became one of the most internationally known Catalan painters. Since 1954 he exhibited regularly at the Sala Gaspar in Barcelona, ​​as well as in 1955 in Stockholm and New York, in 1959 at the V Biennale of São Paulo and at the Venice Biennales of 1960 and 1964. In 1966 he founded the Association of Current Artists.

He was one of the pioneers of post-war Catalan avant-garde art. It evolved from a linear abstraction of surrealist influence in its Dau al Set stage, towards an informalism of rich texture, abundant color and free graphics. In its magical universe the shapes fluctuate freely. He had his own version of stamping techniques (maculaturas) that allowed him to achieve fanciful creations. He also made posters, illustrated books, and made murals, stained glass, mosaics, jewelry, and opera sets (Spleen 1984).

In 1983 he received the Creu de Sant Jordi Prize from the Generalitat of Catalonia and in 1994 the National Prize for Plastic Arts from the Ministry of Culture of Spain, entering that same year at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of Sant Jordi.