25 - ALFONS BORRELL (Barcelona, 1931–Sabadell, 2020).

ALFONS BORRELL (Barcelona, 1931–Sabadell, 2020). “Homage to Joan Oliver,” 1999. Oil on canvas. Signed, dated, and titled on the reverse. Measurements: 66 x 93 cm. Joan Oliver i Sallarès (Sabadell, 1899–Barcelona, 1986), better known by his pen name Pere Quart, was a prominent Spanish poet, playwright, short-story writer, and journalist who wrote in Catalan. One of the leading exponents of lyrical abstraction in Spain, Borrell began his artistic training in 1950 in Anglada Camarasa’s studio. Three years later, he enrolled at the Sant Jordi School of Fine Arts in Barcelona. In 1960, he joined the Gallot group and staged “actions” on the streets of Barcelona. This was a brief but intense period of collective activities with other members of the group. He exhibited gestural paintings, in the tradition of “action painting,” and was invited by Cirici to exhibit at the opening of the Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art. In 1976, he exhibited at the Joan Miró Foundation in Barcelona, and two years later he participated in a group exhibition of Catalan artists held at the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris. During the 1980s and 1990s, he exhibited his work in galleries in Barcelona, Madrid, Paris, New York, and Tokyo, among other cities around the world. Until 1996, Borrell combined his painting with teaching, and in recent years he has devoted himself entirely to his art. His work is currently represented in the Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art.