Guino 14, 1979

Josep Guinovart   Emerging artists

Guino 14 is an original print of 1979 by Josep Guinovart combining etching and aquatint with hand colouring, issued in an edition of 50 copies. At the centre of the horizontal plate, a large, dark, almost circular mass dominates the composition: its surface, printed in velvety blacks and greys, is crossed by a network of fine white crackles, like dried earth, lichen or the bark of a tree, and its edges dissolve into looping, scribbled lines. Around it, the pale ground is animated by a lively repertoire of signs, sinuous contours, black teardrop forms, parallel stripes, a small patch of cross-hatching and strokes like letters, while touches of salmon pink applied by hand at the corners and edges bring a note of warmth and lightness. The contrast between the heavy, material central form and the delicate graphic play around it is characteristic of Guinovart, for whom the print was a field of experimentation with texture and matter as much as with drawing. The title, which incorporates a short form of the artist's name, places the sheet within a numbered group of graphic works. Josep Guinovart (Barcelona, 1927–2007) was a major figure of Catalan Informalism. The impression shown is numbered at lower left and hand-signed and dated '79 in pencil at lower right.