Gerro ocre, 1987

Known for his simple and primitive compositions, Pijuan did not conform to art movements or trends. His art is based on passion, not political or societal critique, and employs abstraction, primitivism and expressionism. Having studied etching and lithography in Paris, his work adapted a geometric configuration that remained prominent until his return to informalism in the 1980s. With his traditionalist approach to artwork, he generally used oil on canvas, or pencil, ink, gouache or charcoal on paper. Landscapes and nature are common features throughout Joan Hernández Pijuan’s works. Although he refused to be called an abstract artist – or an artist for that matter – his landscapes are unmistakably abstract. His later works’ chromatism is reduced to black, white, green or ochre, and every detail is necessary. In the mid 1950s, Joan Hernández Pijuan co-founded the Silex Group, a group dedicated to exploring the connection between contemporary art and primitive convention. He became dean of the Department of Fine Arts University of Barcelona in 1992, and died in Barcelona at the age of seventy-four. Retrospectives have been held at the National Centre de Arte Reina Sofia in Madrid, Spain, and the Museum of Modern Art in Moscow, Russia. (Artist website)