129 - JOAN GARCÍA RIPOLLÉS (Castellón, 1932).

JOAN GARCÍA RIPOLLÉS (Castellón, 1932). “Running Boy.” Polychrome fiberglass with metal base. Edition 2/8. Signed and numbered. Comes with a certificate of authenticity. Measurements: 80 x 42 x 66 cm. Known by his middle name or as “El Beato Ripo,” Joan García Ripollés discovered his passion for painting when, while still very young and in the midst of the postwar period, he began working in an industrial paint shop. From then on, he devoted himself to painting at night, and later took drawing classes at the Ribalta Institute in Castellón. Following his debut in a group exhibition held in 1951 at the Caja de Ahorros de Castellón, a turning point in his career occurred in 1954 as a result of a trip to Paris, where he made contact with the city’s artistic circles. However, he was unable to leave his job in industrial painting until 1958, when he joined the Drouand David Gallery in Paris, one of the most prestigious galleries in the world. He organized his first major solo exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Barcelona in 1962, and in 1967 he traveled to New York, where he exhibited and sold his entire collection to The William Haber Art Collection. That same year, New York art dealer Leon Amiel, of the Larrouse Gallery, acquired his entire body of work—a feat that would be repeated during his trip to Japan. From that moment on, a dazzling international career began, taking his work all over the world. He has held solo exhibitions not only in Spain, Paris, and New York, but also in Mexico, the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, Switzerland, Sweden, various U.S. cities, Germany, and Japan. He is currently represented exclusively by The William Haber Art in New York and Galerie Drouand in Paris. In 2000, he was awarded the Valencian Community Arts Prize. Ripollés defines himself as an “immature adult” and, above all, “carefree, a bit of a rogue, and somewhat naive”—words that reflect his exuberant creative spirit, his simple and outgoing nature, and his childlike soul. Ripollés is today one of the most internationally renowned Spanish artists, and also one of the most versatile, having excelled in painting, sculpture, and printmaking. His work is represented at the IVAM, the MoMA in New York, the University of Alicante Museum, the Seville Museum of Fine Arts, and the Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art. Comes with a certificate of authenticity.