Albert Ràfols Casamada

ALBERT RÀFOLS CASAMADA (Barcelona, 1923 - 2009).
Untitled, 1981.
Watercolour and wax on paper fixed to cardboard in the corners of the upper margin.
Signed and dated in the lower right-hand corner.
Provenance: Private collection.
Measures: 50 x 65.5 cm; 53.5 x 68.5 cm.
After a brief figurative period, the 1950s gave way to a more schematic and structured conception of reality, with a clearly abstractionist slant, which he would cultivate throughout the rest of his life. During the 1980s, as his work progressed, it came closer and closer to plastic poetry, filled with sensations and emotions, which can be observed in signs that veiledly refer us to everyday objects. There is also a clear prominence of colour, which now fills the scenes, creating delicate and enveloping atmospheres.

Painter and graphic artist, Ràfols Casamada trained in Barcelona and Paris. He has received many awards, such as the National Plastic Arts Award in 1980, the Creu de Sant Jordi in 1982 and the CEOE Arts Award in 1991. In 1985 he was also named Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters of France. His work can be found in the most important museums around the world: the Reina Sofía in Madrid, the Guggenheim and MOMA in New York, the Museum of Modern Art in Los Angeles, the Picasso Museum in France, the Georges Pompidou in Paris and the British Museum and the Tate Gallery in London, among many others.