Exhibitions
Creative affinities of Guinovart and Sisquella in dialogue
An exhibition at Espai Guinovart discovers the unexpected connections between two singular voices of post-war Catalan art, between experimentation, materials and expressive freedom.
The Espai Guinovart in Agramunt is hosting Shared Affinities of Josep Guinovart and Conxa Sisquella until September 13, an exhibition that invites you to discover the unexpected meeting points between two key figures in 20th-century Catalan art. Although the trajectories of Josep Guinovart (Barcelona, 1927-2007) and Conxa Sisquella (Centelles, 1920-Barcelona, 1996) never crossed paths – neither in their training nor in artistic circles – and their plastic languages had notable differences, they share a common denominator: the fascination with materials, the constant search for new techniques and the pleasure of tactility. Curated by Conxita Oliver, the exhibition offers a journey through these subtle but revealing affinities, showing how experimentation and curiosity can transcend generations and biographies.
Josep Guinovart. Lorca's Guitar X. 1998.
Conxa Sisquella's paintings, which span from the 1940s to the 1990s, offer a journey through the intense and persevering gaze of a woman who fought with dedication and courage throughout her entire career. The artistic journey starts from an expressionist and existentialist figuration, which gradually merges with abstraction: first through a gestural action in which texture becomes language, then into a universe of chromatic gradations and contrasts that captivate the gaze. From the 1970s, Sisquella enters a stage of liberation, with a more gestural painting and a dripping that vibrates, while introducing sackcloth and textile collages, providing a sensorial and tactile dimension. In the last decade of his life, his work reaches a great maturity: the geometric structure, the deep tones and the incisions and holes in the canvas create a space where matter and light dialogue in silent poetry.
The works by Josep Guinovart that establish this dialogue with Sisquella also follow a long temporal path. Since the 1950s, his painting has gone from a naive stage to the construction of an imaginary and surreal reality, marked by constant recurring themes: the roots in the land and the fascination with the place become the guiding threads that weave a personal universe, rich in textures, colors and symbols, where memory and nature merge with creative freedom.
This temporary exhibition tour will travel to the Fornells-Pla/Conxa Sisquella Foundation in La Garriga in September. At the Espai Guinovart, the exhibition highlights two unique voices of the post-war period: artists of a fighting and tenacious nature who, from different trajectories, but always faithful to the craft, built a solid and committed artistic practice throughout their lives. Despite the difficult years of the dictatorship, Guinovart and Sisquella evolved towards modern aesthetic positions and resistance, defined by originality, freedom and constant experimental research.
