Ponç, Joan

He is the pioneer artist in interpreting the magical world. In his very personal universe he has a mystical and dreamlike language where freedom is always present.

BIOGRAPHY OF JOAN PONÇ: Catalan painter, born in Barcelona in 1927 and died in Saint-Paul-de-Vence in 1984.

In 1943, Ponç began studying painting in the studio of Ramon Rogent, a painter for whom he always had great admiration. At that time he met Joan Vinyals, an antique dealer, who became his first art dealer.

At the age of 20 he held his first exhibition and met the poet Josep Vicenç Foix, the poet and playwright Joan Brossa, the critic and philosopher Arnau Puig and the typographer Enric Tormo.

Together with Francesc Boadella, Joan Brossa, Jordi Mercader, Arnau Puig and Enric Tormo, in 1947 Joan Ponç founded the magazine "Algol", of which only one issue appeared. "Algol" was the embryo of the magazine Dau al Set, of which Ponç became director.

After a brief stay in Paris under the guidance of Joan Miró, a mention at the São Paulo Biennial in 1955 gave him a scholarship to study in Brazil. That same year he founded the group "Taüll", with Marc Aleu, Modest Cuixart, Josep Guinovart, Jaume Muxart, Mercade, Antoni Tàpies and Joan-Josep Tharrats.

Ten years later, in 1965, Ponç won the Grand International Drawing Prize at the São Paulo Biennial.

His work, always detailed and meticulous, is a faithful reflection of his tormented life. He presents us with phantasmagoric and tortured images, in which the subconscious is the protagonist. For Ponç, art is nothing more than an introduction to the mystery and secrets of the spirit.

Joan Ponç exhibited in Barcelona, New York, Paris, Rio de Janeiro, Bonn, Geneva, Tokyo and Madrid, among other places.