20^th Century Spanish

Hernández Pijuan studied at the School of Arts and Crafts of Barcelona from 1945 to 1947, and at the Sant Jordi School of Fine Arts, also in Barcelona, from 1952 to 1954.

He trained as a printmaker and lithographer at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts of Paris, where he settled in 1957. Although in the early stages of his career his practice was influenced by Neo-Expressionism and existentialism, after his second period of training the artist pursued greater sobriety in his works, resulting from his contacts with European Art Informel and American Abstraction.

In the 1970s the artist began to tackle landscape as his primary subject matter, in what would be a step towards what ended up as his major concern: space. He addressed this issue in his PhD dissertation, which he completed in 1987, titled Painting and Space, a Personal Experience.

In 1981 his career was distinguished with the National Visual Arts Prize, in 1985 with the San Jorge Cross and in 2005 with the National Graphic Art Prize. In 2006 he was appointed an academician of the San Fernando Royal Academy of Fine Arts.

In 1991 the Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao showcased the whole of his graphic work in a catalogue raisonné titled Obra gráfica. 1982-1990. His exhibitions include Espacios de silencio. 1972-1992 presented at the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía in Madrid and the Museo de Monterrey (Mexico); and Volviendo a un lugar conocido. Hernández Pijuan 1972-2002, a retrospective organised by the Museu d’Art Contemporani of Barcelona (MACBA).