Baqués exhibition in the press
It is the first exhibition of homage to the painter after his death, since he still participated in the participatory ones of the previous one, in Girona.
Mariano Martínez, from Cugatenc, has dedicated this article to the exhibition:
Josep Baqués, recommended by the art critic Francesc Galí, exhibited on several occasions in this room; in 1999, 2009 and 2015; and was one of the consecrated figures that the art gallery has.
The act was attended by his daughter, Lídia Baqués. On behalf of the family, he said a few words in memory of the father who disappeared in the dark times of the pandemic, which prevented the dismissal that his family wanted. He highlighted the great capacity for work of his father, who painted almost until the end of his life, and his career as a graphic designer first and then as a painter. He also mentioned his style, deformation of reality, but without losing the reference, the great imagination to transform reality and mastery of drawing.
A selection of the work of Baqués corresponding to the last 15 years is exhibited in the Sala Rusiñol and it is a good example of the work of maturity, the work that established him internationally and made him a prominent figure of his work generation. The first thing that surprises when Baqués’ painting is contemplated is the luminosity, how he catches the light and the Renaissance air of his paintings; the compositions, the stylization of the figures and the atmosphere that pervades the work refer to the Italian Renaissance. The attraction to Italy was great and a reference figure in his career was Giuseppe Archiboldo, an Italian painter of the 16th century. In his still lifes, very careful and compensated compositions, the elements are superimposed and, on occasions, the human figure appears, the figure of the horse, a piece that is very present in his compositions and mythology also appears. Francesc Galí said that the horse was a kind of self-portrait. And the architecture as a backdrop.
Harmony of colors and shapes, in addition to the aforementioned stylization of the figures, traces of irony together with a subtle surrealism are also present in Baqués’ painting. A painting where the surrealist fable and the world of dreams converge, a work with dreamlike features.
Josep Baqués began in the world of graphic design, a field in which he forged a solid career, with international projection, with his own studio since the 1950s and working for advertising for large corporations. And at the beginning of the 80s he left the workshop in the hands of his son and dedicated himself exclusively to the world of painting.
The exhibition closes the season and will remain open until June 14″.
