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

JOSEP MARIA RIERA I ARAGÓ (Barcelona, 1954). “Airplane,” 1987. Mixed media on iron. Signed and dated. Measurements: 31 x 101 cm. A painter and sculptor, Josep Riera i Aragó studied at the Barcelona School of Fine Arts. He held his first solo exhibition 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 out of context, separated from their original function. At the same time, his artistic language has been enriched through a deeper 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 rich 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 MACBA, 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.