Spanish
b. 1931 — d. 2005

Joan Hernández Pijuan was one of the most celebrated Spanish artists of the last few decades. Pijuan is known for his simple compositions, neutral colors, and expressive lines. Born in Barcelona, Pijuan graduated from the Escuela de Bellas Artes de Sant Jordi. In 1953, he held his first exhibition, displaying expressionistic works. The Museo Municipal de Mataró hosted his first solo exhibition in 1955, and soon afterward, he co-foundered "Grupo Silex." The group, which included artists Carles Planell, Eduardo Alcoy, and Josep Maria Rovira Brull, explored the connection between Contemporary Art and primitive tradition, with particular emphasis on abstraction and Expressionism.

During the late 1950s, he lived and worked in Paris, where he learned etching and lithography, adapting a figurative geometric style. His works during this time incorporated mathematical elements and stacked, solid objects against gray backdrops. He didn't return to Informalismo until the 1980s.

In 1977, he began teaching at the Escuela de Bellas Artes de Sant Jordi. In 1989, he was appointed a professor of painting in the Department of Fine Arts at the University of Barcelona, and became dean in 1992. A retrospective exhibition of his work was held at the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia in Madrid. In 2011, another retrospective was held at the Museum of Modern Art in Moscow.

Pijuan died in Barcelona at the age of 74.

Timeline

1931
Born in Barcelona, Spain

1945 – 1947
School of arts Llotja, Barcelona, Spain

1952 – 1956
Studied at Saint Jordi Barcelona, Spain

1956
Prize of the national exhibition in Alicante; stays in Paris, studies at the 'Ecole des Beaux Arts' in Paris, works with etchings and lithographs

1957
Produces Action Paintings in black and white

1960
First Prize for painting of the 'Primer Salón de Jazz', Granollers/Barcelona

1964 – 1965
Zinklithogafie Series Barcelona, Spain

1966
Pijuan replaces his gesticular paintings by geometric and a precise way of painting

1971
The landscape as coloured space becomes a motive and source of inspiration

1976
Teaches at the 'Escuela Superior de Bellas Artes Sant Jordi', Barcelona

1979
Professor at Saint Jordi Barcelona, Spain

1981
Figurative motives, which remind of flowers and plants

1985
Award of 'La Creu de Sant Jordi' by the General de Catalunya

1986 – 1987
Gives many lectures in art in Barcelona, Palmas, Gran Canaria

1988
Finishes his thesis 'Pintura i Espai: una experiencia personal' (Painting and Space: A Personal Experience) Faculty of Arts, University of Barcelona

1989
Professorship for painting at the Faculty of Arts of the University of Barcelona

1989
Wall paintings in the Pavillon Sant Jordi of the Olympic Stadium on the Montjuic on the occasion of the Olympic Games in Barcelona

1990
Becomes Dean of the Faculty of Arts, University of Barcelona

1992
Becomes Dean of the University Barcelona

1993
Wall painting for an auditorium of the Universidad Central, Barcelona

1995 – 1997
Membership of the Royal Academy of Arts, San Fernando, Madrid

1995 – 1997
Membership of the Royal Academy of Arts, San Fernando, Madrid

2000
Member of the Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando, Madrid

2005
Died in Barcelona on December 28

Exhibitions

2010
The Measurement of Time, the Course of Painting, Fundació Sunol, Barcelona, Spain (solo)

2009
Hommage à Joan Hernández Pijuan, Galerie Andres Thalmann, Zurich, Switzerland (solo)

2009
Escola Catalana del Tapís. El tapís contemporani català, Museu de Sant Cugat, Museo de Sant Cugat – Casa Aymat, Sant Cugat and Centre Cultural Caixa Terrassa, Terrassa

2009
Inmersiones. Paisaje de redes, sistemas, mallas y estructuras, II Bienal de Canarias, Centro Atlántico de Arte Moderno, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria

2008
España 1957-2007. L’arte spagnola da Picasso, Mirò e Tápies ai nostri giorni, Palazzo Sant'Elia, Palermo, Italy

2008
Joan Hernández Pijuan: La distancia del dibujo, Museo de Arte Abstracto Espanyol, Fundación Juan March, Cuenca (E), Museu d’Art Espanyol Contemporani, Fundación Juan March, Palma de Mallorca (solo)

2007
Mi Forma de Mirar, Galeria Ramis Barquet, New York, USA (solo)

2007
Hernández Pijuan. Granada 2004, drawings by Joan Hernández Pijuan and works by Elvira Maluquer, Juan Uslé, Arthur Danto and Dan Cameron, Instituto Cervantes, New York, USA

2005
Memoria del Sud, Mario Mauroner Contemporary Art Vienna, Vienna, Austria

2005
Galeria Joan Prats, Barcelona, Spain (solo)

2005
Galeria Ramis Barquet, New York, NY (solo)

2005
From Picasso to Plensa: A Century of Art in Spain, Albuquerque Museum of Art and History, Albuquerque, NM, USA

2005
Tornant a un Iloc conegut, Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona, Spain (Solo)

2005
48th Venice Biennale, Italy

2004
Galeria Ramis Barquet, New York, NY (solo)

2004
Galeria d’Arte Moderna, Bologna, Italy (solo)

2003
Musée d’Art et d’Histoire, Neuchatel, Switzerland (solo)

2003
Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona (MACBA), Barcelona (solo)

2003
Malmö Konsthall, Malmö, Sweden (solo)

2003
Tornant a un Iloc conegut, MACBA, Museu d' Art de Barcelona, Barcelona (solo)

2003
Paper, Galeria Ramis Barquet, New York, NY

2002
Centre Cultural Contemporani Pelaires, Palma de Mallorca, Spain (solo)

2002
Galerie Academia, Salzburg, Austria (solo)

2002
Joan Hernández Pijuan. Neue Bilder, BAUKUNST-GALERIE, Cologne, Germany (solo)

2002
Joan Hernández Pijuan. Obra Gráfica III (1991-2002), Fundación Museo del Grabado Español Contemporáneo, Marbella, Spain (solo)

2002
Joan Hernández Pijuan: recent work, Galerie Lutz und Thalmann, Zurich, Switzerland (solo)

2002
Caminar en l’espai, Sala d’art Josep Bages, Torre Muntadas, El Prat de Llobregat, Spain (solo)

2001
Galerie Joan Prats, Barcelona, Spain (solo)

2001
Galería Joan Prats, Barcelona, Spain (solo)

2001
Ramis Barquet Gallery, New York, NY (solo)

2001
Galería Colón XVI, Bilbao, Spain (solo)

2000 – 2001
Galerie Xippas, Paris (solo)

2000
Rétrospective des Dessins 1972- 1999, Rupertinum, Museum für Moderne und Zeitgenössische Kunst, Salzburg, Austria

2000
Galerie Akademia Salzburg, Austria

2000
Joan Hernandez Pijuan, De Fariones Grabodos, Galeria Grafica, La Caja Negra, Madrid (solo)

2000
Obra Grafica, Museum für moderne und Zeitgenössische Kunst, Salzburg, Austria

2000
Galeria Soledad Lorenzo Madrid

2000
Rupertinum Salzburg, Austria

2000
Gallery Hanna Bekker Vom Rath, Frankfurt, Germany

1999
Gallery Hanna Bekker Vom Rath, Frankfurt, Germany

1998
Frankfurter Kunstverein, Frankfurt, Germany

1998
Kunstverein Franke, Frankfurt, Germany

1996
Art Frankfurt, Gallery Bender, Frankfurt, Germany

1995
Gallery Soledad Lorenzo Madrid

1994
Gallery Bender, Munich, Germany

1993
Museo Rufino, Tamayo, Mexico

1990
Gallery Hanna Bekker vom Rath, Frankfurt, Germany

1988
Reina Sofia Museum, Madrid

1985
Gallery Joan Prats, New York, NY

1979
Gallery Joan Prats, Barcelona, Spain

1962
Marlborough Gallery, London

1961
Modern Art Museum, Galleria Spirale Arte, Milan, Italy

1961
Ateneo de Madrid Cercle de Belles Arts, Lérida, Spain

1960
XXX Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy

1959
Vint anys de pintura espanyola, Lisbon and Oporto, Portugal

1958
Galería Syra, Barcelona, Spain

1956
Club 4 Vents, Paris

1955
Museo Municipal, Mataró, Spain

Literature

2010
Joan Hernández Pijuan. La mesura del temps, el transcurs de la pintura, Cat.: Fundació Suñol, Barcelona, with a text by Sergi Aguilar, Barcelona 2010

2009
Joan Hernández Pijuan. Obra Gráfica IV (2002-2005), ed. by Ediciones Polígrafa, Barcelona, with a text by Pilar Vélez, Barcelona 2009

2008
Joan Hernández Pijuan: La Distancia del Dibujo, Cat.: Museo de Arte Abstracto Espaňol, Cuenca and Museu d’Art Espanyol Contemporani, Palma, ed. by Fundación Juan March, Madrid, with texts by Valenín Roma, Peter Dittmar and Narcís Comadira, Madrid 2008

2007
Iris de Pascua. Joan Hernández Pijuan, Cat.: Museo de Arte Abstracto Espaňol, Cuenca and Museu d’Art Espanyol Contemporani, Palma, ed. by Fundación Juan March, with a text by Elvira Maluquer, Madrid 2008

2007
Hernández Pijuan. Granada 2004, Cat.: Instituto Cervantes, with texts by Eduardo Lago, Juan Uslé and Dan Cameron, New York 2007

2006
Joan Hernández Pijuan. Mi Forma de Mirar, Cat.: Galeria Ramis Barquet, with texts by Simone Kuoni, Joan Hernández Pijuan and Arthur C. Danto, New York 2006

2004
Joan Hernández Pijuan. Œuvres Recentes, Cat.: Galerie Xippas, with a text by Maria de Corral, Paris 2004

2004
Joan Hernández Pijuan 1993-2004, Cat.: Carmen de la Fundación Rodriguez-Acosta, Centro Cultural Caja Granada Puerta Real, with texts by Fernando Martín Martín and Antonio García Bascón, Granada 2004

2004
Joan Hernández Pijuan. En la piedra, Cat.: Galería la Caja Negra, with poems by Aurora García and texts by Joan Hernández Pijuan, Madrid 2004

2003
Corral, Maria de / Maluquer, Elvira / Perez, Rafael Hernando: Joan Hernández Pijuan. Obra Sobre Papel, Madrid 2003

2002
Joan Hernández Pijuan. Volviendo a un lugar conocido, Cat.: Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona (MACBA); Musée d’art et historie, Neuchâtel; Malmö Konsthall, Malmö; Galleria d’Arte Moderna de Bologna, with texts by Juan Manuel Bonet, Arthur C. Danto, Dan Cameron, Valentín Roma and María de Corral, Barcelona 2002

2002
Hernández Pijuan. Caminar en l’espai, Cat.: Sala d’art Josep Bages, Torre Muntadas, with a text by Dolors Juárez, El Part de Llobregat 2002

2002
Hernández Pijuan, Cat.: Pelaires, Centre Cultural Contemporani, with a text by Joan Hernández Pijuan, Palma de Mallorca 2000

2002
Joan Hernández Pijuan. Detrás de ciprés está la montaňa, Cat.: Galeria Soledad Lorenzo, with a text by Mariano Navarro, Madrid 2002

2002
Joan Henández Pijuan. Obra Gráfica III (1991-2002), Cat.: Fundación Museo del Grabado Español Contemporáneo, Marbella, ed. by Ediciones Polígrafa, Barcelona, with a text by Rosa Vives, Barcelona 2002

2002
Pérez, Rafael Hernando, Casi un cuento, Madrid 2002

2002
Juárez, Dolors: Caminar en l'espai, Cat.: Sala d'Art Josep Bages – Torre Muntadas, El Prat de Llobregat, Barcelona 2002

2001
Hernández Pijuan, Cat.: Galeria Joan Prats, with a text by Helena Tatay, Barcelona 2001

2001
Joan Hernández Pijuan. Œuvres Recentes, Cat.: Galerie Xippas, Paris 2001

2000
Joan Hernández Pijuan. Blanca, Cat.: Sala Verónicas, with texts by Mara Mira and Elvira Maluquer, Murcia 2000

2000
Hernández Pijuan, Cat.: Galeria Soledad Lorenzo, with a text by Joan Hernández Pijuan, Madrid 2000

2000
Joan Hernández Pijuan, Cat.: Galería Colón XVI, with texts by Simone Kuoni, Bilbao 2000

2000
Joan Hernández Pijuan. Œuvres récentes, Cat.: Galerie Xippas, Paris 2000

1998
'Sentiment de Paisatge 1972-1998', Galleria Credito Valtellinese, Refettorio delle Stelline, Milano, 18.6.–8.8.1998, Frankfurter Kunstverein, Frankfurt, 28.11.1998–10.10.1999, Ediciones Poligrafa, Barcelona