Joan Josep Tharrats i Vidal

BIOGRAPHY

Joan-Josep Tharrats i Vidal (Girona, 1918 – Barcelona, 2001) was an influential Spanish painter, printmaker, editor and art theorist, recognised as one of the key figures of the post-war avant-garde in Catalonia.

After abandoning his early Impressionist style under the influence of pure abstraction, he secured his place in art history in 1948 as a founding member of the emblematic artistic group and magazine *Dau al Set*. He personally edited and printed the publication in his studio, turning it into a catalyst for change in opposition to the cultural oppression of the time.

Throughout his career, his work evolved from a universe rooted in Surrealism towards a bold form of Informalism with a Tachist approach, characterised by rich textures, dynamic marks and intense colour.

He was also renowned for inventing *maculatures*, an original process combining overprinting techniques, monotype and hand painting.

Tharrats left behind an extensive multidisciplinary legacy that includes graphic compositions, murals and ceramics exhibited in leading international museums, such as MoMA and the Reina Sofía Museum.

JOAN JOSEP THARRATS

Mixed media on cardboard.
25 × 17 cm.
Signed in the lower right corner.
Work from the Caralt Gallery in Barcelona, created on the occasion of the second exhibition held there by the Dau al Set group.

Mixed media on cardboard.
25 × 17 cm.
Signed in the lower right corner.
Work from the Caralt Gallery in Barcelona, created on the occasion of the second exhibition held there by the Dau al Set group.

Mixed media on cardboard.
25 × 17 cm.
Signed in the lower right corner.
Work from the Caralt Gallery in Barcelona, created on the occasion of the second exhibition held there by the Dau al Set group.