39 - JOSEP RIERA I ARAGÓ (Barcelona, 1954).

JOSEP RIERA I ARAGÓ (Barcelona, 1954). "Avió de Foc. 1987. Mixed media on paper adhered to an iron plate. Signed and dated. Exhibitions: - Exhibition "Riera i Aragó" at the Columela Gallery in Madrid in January and February 1988. 1988 and published in the catalog published for the occasion. -Exhibition at the Marlborough Gallery in 2021. Bibliography: -Monography of Gloria Picazo, Ediciones Polígrafa, Barcelona 1992, on page 237, with the following record: Avió del foc, 1987-1988 Oil, graphite, Arabic gum on paper and iron 124 x 200 cm. -Columela's catalog appears as Untitled. In the English edition of the monograph it appears as Airplane with Fire. Measurements: 124 x 200 cm. A large format work by Josep Riera i Aragó, belonging to an early and especially significant stage in his consolidation as an artist. The composition is structured by means of a delicate balance between emptiness, line and matter, articulating an abstract space of strong poetic charge. On a light, almost atmospheric background, the artist arranges a series of vertical and horizontal tensions that seem to hold the image in a state of suspension. The dark areas, with a burnt or eroded appearance, introduce a material-organic dimension that contrasts with the fragility of the stroke and the lightness of the support. The result is a silent work, of great spatial intensity, in which abstraction approaches the territory of memory, trace and sign. The piece already reveals some of Riera i Aragó's fundamental interests: the relationship between matter and space, the suggestion of floating structures and a visual poetics close to travel, artifact and imaginary construction. Because of its dimensions, the work acquires an unusual mural presence, reinforcing its enveloping character and its value within his production on paper. Riera i Aragó is one of the contemporary Catalan artists with the greatest institutional projection. His work, developed in painting, sculpture and graphic art, recreates a universe of machines, airplanes, submarines and imaginary artifacts, treated with a mixture of irony, lyricism and reflection on progress. His work is part of important public collections, including the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya (MNAC), the MACBA (Barcelona), the IVAM (Valencia), the Museo Patio Herreriano (Valladolid), the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Ibiza, the Fundació Vila Casas, the Col-lecció "la Caixa", as well as various municipal collections and private foundations in Spain and Europe.