Josep Guinovart was a multifaceted artist, usually ascribed to , whose output includes a large number of graphic works. A key figure in the Catalan avant-garde of the second half of the twentieth century, he created a highly personal visual world, influenced mostly by Surrealism and , which evolved from figuration to abstraction.
From the mid-1970s onwards, as he experimented with the three-dimensional potential of his works, he began to grow more and more interested in printmaking. His investigation led him to create a number of different series, conceived as small-format boxes on the threshold between sculpture and painting. Although they were created individually, they complement each other in a very natural way, expanding their meaning, as we can see in the three pieces—including the work at hand—in the BBVA Collection.
Guinovart starts by engraving the central area, which serves as the core of the composition. He then applies a range of different media like pencil, acrylic and . In doing so, he structures the space in a balanced way, combining the surrealist fantasy of the organic forms in the background with the formal austerity of the blank areas. The outcome is a highly expressive composition that reflects the artist’s inner world.
The artist sometimes adds elements from nature to the work in a kind of , as in this case, in which he incorporates branches simulating a tree to underscore the three-dimensionality of the work. This recourse alludes to the relationship between the painterly object and the rural world, establishing a dialogue that would prove crucial throughout the whole of his career.
In each one of these boxes, Guinovart attempts to capture a bounded reality, to which he gains access through the idea of the window, a recurrent concept throughout the History of Art. However, his goal goes beyond mere observation. By breaking the rules of painting he tries to offer beholders an experience that will surprise them and encourage them to find a balance between the material and the spiritual.