Joan Ponç

(Barcelona, 1927 – Saint-Paul-de-Vence, 1984)

Author's artworks

20th Century Spanish

Born to a large family in Barcelona, Ponç’s earliest contact with painting was in 1943 at the studio of Ramón Rogent (1920-1958), where he developed a style influenced by
. In 1946 he had an early solo show at Sala Arte, in Bilbao, although it did not receive the critical acclaim he had hoped for.

In 1948 Ponç was one the founders, together with other artists, of 
  group. Among these artists is Joan Brossa (1919-1998), who led him on a path to Surrealism, and very especially towards Joan Miró (1893-1983). During a trip to Madrid in the late forties he visited the Prado Museum, where he was fascinated by the works of Francisco de Goya (1746-1828).

In 1953, frustrated by the failure of critics to understand his art, and searching for new paths, he decided to travel to Paris. Shortly after that he moved to Brazil and settled for a decade in São Paulo, where he developed his artistic and teaching career. In 1954 he had his first solo exhibition in Latin America at the Modern Art Museum of São Paulo.

After nearly ten years in Brazil, in 1962 Ponç returned to Spain, re-appearing in the country’s art scene. In 1964, Galería René Metras of Barcelona organised his first retrospective. Then he started an intense period of activity: figurines for a ballet by Antonio Gades, drawings and etchings for books by J. V. Foix, Luis Goytisolo and Joan Fuster; exhibitions in Spain and abroad: Frankfurt, New York, Paris (solo exhibition at Musée d’Art Moderne, 1978), and in galleries Joan Prats,
 and Eude in Barcelona, and Biosca in Madrid. In 1980 a survey exhibition of his work was held in the exhibition hall of La Caixa in Manresa.

His works may be found in the collections of major art institutions such as the Reina Sofía Museum in Madrid and Museu d'Art Contemporani and Museu Nacional d´Art de Catalunya, both in Barcelona.