Direct Contact

R. Alexander Fine Art presents Direct Contact, the upcoming exhibition featuring the artwork of Josep Baqués. The special feature will be on view at R.Alexander from November 21st to December 19th, 2016.

Spanish artist Josep Baqués creates art that seamlessly harmonizes multiple movements throughout art history. Inspired by Medieval aesthetics, morphology, Surrealism and Humanist philosophy that spurred the Renaissance, within Baqués’ work vibrantly swirling combinations of classical composition and modern techniques create a distinctly unique style. This variety in his work evokes comparison to several artists from the Renaissance, such as the compositional density of Paolo Ucello, to the colorful palettes of Masaccio and Boticelli, and modern masters such as Salvador Dali’s Surrealist dreamscapes and the ingenuity of Pablo Picasso.

An embodiment that art imitates life, the self- taught artist has a life of complexities himself. Born in 1932 near Barcelona, he spent his early life living in direct contact with nature in the Spanish countryside until the turbulent Spanish Civil War forced Baqués and his family to flee their home and seek asylum in urban Barcelona. He found work as a draftsman and later as a graphic designer, after which he advanced to become a professor at the Escuela Oficial de Publicidad in Barcelona and opened his own design studio Estudi Baqués. His long career includes honors such as representing Spain at the prestigious Print Association in Tokyo, receiving the revered Laus design award in 1971, and exhibiting throughout Europe, the US, and Asia.

Cuatro Figuras con Pajaro Blanco (Four Figures with White Bird)