Stripes and brushstrokes, 2020

Miquel Angel Benejam  

Miquel Angel Benejam is a Catalan artist born in 1958 who lives and works in Barcelona, Spain. The collage understood in a broad sense, that cultural, technical, and artistic miscegenation constitutes, possibly, its most characteristic signs of identity. His work, diverse and kaleidoscopic, is a reflection of a restless life journey. Since the 1970s he has been involved in photography, film, video, and installation and during his stay in the Caribbean, he discovered the design and manual production of rugs and tapestries. During his formative years, Benejam studies the avant-garde and decides to survive outside the more conventional artistic channels. In the '80s and '90s, Benejam became passionate about collage, which he experimented with in all its aspects and concepts. But in 1997 a new twist in his artistic drive occurs and he begins to paint from nature, “a plain air". Years later, he elaborates in the workshop on the experiences of the natural. This path allowed him to delve into his own fascinating nature. In 2013 improvisations began, "painting in freedom, without sketches or prior agreements." Colours become essential in his work. In 2017, flashes of other paintings appear in the improvisations, summarized versions of other paintings. They are the "Tributes" that dialogue with the painting itself. The borders between abstraction and figuration became blurred.