Imatges i Terra 1, 1991

Josep Guinovart   Emerging artists

Imatges i terra 1 (Images and Earth 1) is an original etching of 1991 by Josep Guinovart, issued in an edition of 50 copies in a format of 57 x 77 cm. The plate has an unusual shape, a tall rectangle with a rounded top, like a stele, a tombstone, a torso or the outline of a field seen from above. Its surface, printed in warm terracotta and pink tones, is divided by a broad vertical band of dark, granular texture with ragged edges, like a furrow, a crack in the earth or the trunk of a tree. To the right, white shapes reserved in the paper, an almond-shaped eye and falling drops, suggest tears or rain, while fine scratched lines evoke plants and figures; to the left, a ladder-like structure, a brown oval and bands of red and dark brown add accents of colour. The title links the image to the earth, a constant source of Guinovart's art, nourished by the agricultural landscapes of Agramunt, where he spent his childhood years and later founded the Espai Guinovart. Josep Guinovart (Barcelona, 1927–2007) was a major figure of Catalan Informalism. The impression shown is marked H.C. and numbered at lower left, and hand-signed and dated '91 in pencil at lower right.