43 - JOSEP MARIA RIERA I ARAGÓ (Barcelona, 1954).

JOSEP MARIA RIERA I ARAGÓ (Barcelona, 1954). Untitled, 1987. Mixed media and collage (wood on lead). Original lead frame (part of the work itself). Measurements: 122.5 x 124.5 cm. The work up for auction is a clear example of Josep Maria Riera i Aragó’s unmistakable creative universe, built around machines, modes of transportation, and a fascination with travel. Against an intense black lead surface, a stylized piece of wood stands out, evoking a boat, which the artist has transformed into an essential and poetic form. The warm tone of the wood is a hallmark of contrast with the density and darkness of the metal, giving the composition a striking visual presence. Of particular interest is the original lead frame, conceived as an integral part of the work itself—a device that accentuates its object-like quality and uniqueness. Riera i Aragó thus combines painting, sculpture, and collage in a work of great visual power, representative of a highly personal artistic language in which boats, airplanes, and other objects are transformed into evocative symbols of travel, adventure, and imagination. A painter and sculptor, Josep Riera i Aragó trained at the Barcelona School of Fine Arts. He made his solo debut in 1981 at the Artema Gallery in Barcelona. Two years later, he participated in the city’s Autumn Salon, and since then he has exhibited his work around the world, in prominent galleries in Spain, Mexico, the Netherlands, Israel, Germany, Belgium, France, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Colombia, and the United States. Of particular note are the solo exhibitions he has held at the Museum of Céret (France, 1989), the National Library of Paris (1993), the Museum of Modern Art in Ostend (Belgium, 1997), the Joan Prats Gallery in New York (1998), the Tassende Gallery in Los Angeles (2003), and the Aalst Museum in Belgium (2006), among others. Since 1983, Riera i Aragó has developed his artistic discourse around mechanization, using a symbolic language marked by an interest in air and sea transportation, which he views as decontextualized, separated from their original function. At the same time, his artistic language has been enriched through a deepening exploration of the dialogue between line and plane, and between empty and full space. Never repetitive, each “machine” he creates evokes, without pathos or condescension, a clear and comprehensive vision of humanity. With a visual vocabulary limited to simple forms reminiscent of zeppelins, submarines, or airplanes, Riera i Aragó develops a fertile iconography laden with meaning that, imbued with clear irony, speaks to the absurd recklessness of human creations and the poetic justice that ensues when those creations turn against us. His work should be understood as a comprehensive narrative, one that draws connections to fields as diverse as astronomy, botany, mathematics, and mysticism, and that offers the viewer the opportunity to enter a unique and deeply lyrical universe, where reality and fiction cease to be opposing categories. Riera i Aragó’s work is currently represented at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Barcelona; the Joan Miró, La Caixa, and Vicent Van Gogh Foundations; the Museum of Modern Art in Luxembourg; the Rufino Tamayo Museum in Mexico; the Cérét and Reattu Museums in Arles, France; the Otani Museum in Japan, and the Heilbronn Museum in Germany, among many others.