Joan Josep Tharrats Biography
Gerona, 1918
Spanish painter, engraver and spanish art's historian. Is one of the greatest examples of Informalist art in Spain.
Has made numerous mosaics, sculptures and ceramics, which shows his interest in integrating his art with architecture, urbanism and landscape. In the engraving area, he invented a procedure called "maculatura".
In 1948 he founded the group Dau al Set, which helped to consolidate the artistic renewal in Barcelona. Simultaneously founded a magazine with the same name, whose articles he wrote while he directed the edition, creating a state- of-the-arts book/object. After his Surrealist phase related to Dau al Set, he shifted to Informalism in 1954, an art line that gives more importance to the stain than the matter, the gestures or space. The colors in his work were warm, with a mediterranean influence.
He studied in Beziers, Gerona and Barcelona. Here he studied in the Massana school from 1935 to 1935.
In 1950 he made his first solo exhibition in the galleries of the Jardin de Barcelona. From there he was part of many shows in Spain and in other countries (Sweden, U.S.A., Switzerland, Italy, Mexico, Japan, etc). In 1956 he participated in the Venice Biennale and in 1959 in the Sao Paulo Biennale.
His work can be found, among others, in the following museums and collections. - Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) New York. - Guggenheim Museum, New York. - Tate Gallery, London. - Museo de Arte Moderno, Barcelona. - Museo Nacional Centro Arte Reina Sofia (MNCARS), Madrid.