Guillem Ramos-Poquí
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Guillem Ramos-Poquí (born 1944, Barcelona) is a painter who was a major figure of Arte Povera and Conceptual art in Catalonia during the 1960s. He has lived in London since 1968.


Studies and early career

Guillem Ramos-Poquí grew up in Barcelona where he studied painting at the city's School of Fine Art. During the 60s he was a major figure in the Catalan Conceptual art and Arte Povera avant-garde. After being awarded several art fellowships that took him to Paris and New York, he settled in London in 1968 where he studied at the Slade and the Royal College of Art. In 1995 he received his Ph.D. in Fine Art Painting from the University of Barcelona for his art work and thesis entitled ''The Conceptual Dimension in Art: Theory as an Inherent Component of the Practice of Painting'', written in Catalan. He was Head of Fine Art at
Kensington and Chelsea College Morley College is a specialist adult education and further education college in London, England. The college has three main campuses, one in Waterloo on the South Bank, and two in West London namely in North Kensington and in Chelsea, the l ...
(1990–2004) and Lecturer in Advanced Painting at Morley College (2004–2012). He has exhibited extensively in London and abroad.


Post-Pop Art and

Minimalism In visual arts, music and other media, minimalism is an art movement that began in post–World War II in Western art, most strongly with American visual arts in the 1960s and early 1970s. Prominent artists associated with minimalism include Don ...

In 1965 Ramos-Poquí was awarded a fellowship from the French Government to work in Paris and was given a studio at the Cité internationale des arts in Paris where he held an exhibition of collages featuring photo cut-outs, graffiti and letter/number transfers. Although these 1965 collages have a post- Pop Art feel, their employment of a personal code and incorporation of mechanical, automatic and lyrical formal elements defy categorisation. His 1967 work, exhibited in the Gallery of the Institute of North American Studies in Barcelona, consisted of a series of minimalist 'signs' made with industrial spray paint. Ramos-Poquí was granted the American Elias Ahuja Art Specialist Fellowship to New York, where he had a studio from 1967 to 1968. File:'Eyes',_Collage_on_paper_1965.jpg , 'Collage of the Telephone' on paper 1965 File:'Eyes',_Collage_on_paper,_1965.jpg , 'Eyes' Collage on paper 1965 File:'Eight_Signs'._1967._Industrial_spray_on_paper_and_canvas.jpg , 'Eight Signs'. 1967. Industrial spray on paper and canvas


Arte Povera and Conceptual Art

Ramos-Poquí belongs to the generation of Catalan artists of the 1960s who emigrated to Paris, London and New York, including fellow artists such as :es:Antoni Llena, who also spent time in London,
Antoni Miralda Antoni Miralda (born 1942 in Terrassa, Spain) is a Spanish multidisciplinary artist. Biography Miralda Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, Madrid. ''Catalogue of the exhibition Miralda De gustibus non disputandum'', 2010 was born in Terra ...
, Benet Rossell and Jaume Xifra. Ramos-Poquí’s works from this decade include a series of collages juxtaposing dynamic forms with the use of industrial spray paint to allude to mechanical progress. During the 60s he also produced a series of ‘ found objects’ belonging to the consumer market, with which he created assemblages. They reveal the impact of Pop Art and the works of Rauschenberg on his work. The small scale and poetic associations of many of these assemblages from the 60s echo the Surrealist objects by
Joan Miró Joan Miró i Ferrà ( , , ; 20 April 1893 – 25 December 1983) was a Catalan painter, sculptor and ceramicist born in Barcelona. A museum dedicated to his work, the Fundació Joan Miró, was established in his native city of Barcelona i ...
and the boxes by Joseph Cornell, as pointed out by the author Gerald L. Bruns and the art critic :ca:Pilar Parcerisas i Colomer. Other assemblages are more explicitly linked to a spirit of revolt. In September 1968 he staged an exhibition and installation of his Arte Povera ' found objects' displayed in boxes and Conceptual Art pieces, consisting of 'photographs of ideas', at the Arts Lab in Drury Lane, London. Because of these works he is considered, according to Catalan Art Critic and Historian :ca:Alexandre Cirici i Pellicer, the forerunner of Arte Povera and Conceptual Art in Catalonia. File:Beggar's_Box_,1968.jpg, Beggar's Box,1968 File:Boxes_and_assemblages,_1968.jpg, Boxes and assemblages, 1968 File:Photographs_of_ideas.jpg , Photographs of ideas. Left: 'Girl in a Garden', 1968. Right: 'Aeroplane in a Garden' 1968


Geometric colour field paintings

His colour field paintings show the influence of Rothko and North-American
Post-painterly abstraction Post-painterly abstraction is a term created by art critic Clement Greenberg as the title for an exhibit he curated for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in 1964, which subsequently travelled to the Walker Art Center and the Art Gallery of Toront ...
, especially
Barnett Newman Barnett Newman (January 29, 1905 – July 4, 1970) was an American artist. He has been critically regarded as one of the major figures of abstract expressionism, and one of the foremost color field painters. His paintings explore the sense o ...
, Kenneth Noland and Frank Stella. He reached a post- Bauhaus geometric synthesis rooted in theories concerning visual perception, demonstrating an indebtedness to the geometry and colour of Johannes Itten, Rudolf Arnheim, and Josef Albers. In Paris he became acquainted with a Bauhaus pupil of Paul Klee,
Mordecai Ardon Mordecai Ardon ( he, מרדכי ארדון, 13 July 1896 – 18 June 1992) was an Israeli painter. Biography Max Bronstein (later Mordecai Ardon) was born in Tuchów, Galicia (then Austria-Hungary, now Poland). In 1933 he immigrated to Mandate ...
, while in Chicago he met György Kepes who, together with Moholy-Nagy, founded the New Bauhaus (today the IIT Institute of Design in Illinois). Further encounters with Ola Okuniewska (Ola Wolpe) and Clement Greenberg also impacted his work. His passion for geometry continued throughout his career, right up until the present day. During the mid-70s he started teaching in London. His extensive knowledge of the techniques of painting led to him giving a series of demonstrations at the National Gallery and at several art colleges. In London he founded the Essendine Art Centre, where he taught advanced printmaking, life drawing and techniques of painting to young art college graduates. One of the specialized courses focused on 'The Technique of Icon Painting.' The success of the course led to the commission of a book on this subject, published by Search Press Ltd. It has been translated into seven languages. File:Painting_Leaves.jpg, Painting, 'Geometric Interruption' oil on paper 1970 File:Painting_geometric.jpg, Painting, 'Leaves 2', oil on canvas 1 1/2m x 1 1/2 m, 1970


Paintings, Digital Art and

Assemblage (art) Assemblage is an artistic form or medium usually created on a defined substrate that consists of three-dimensional elements projecting out of or from the substrate. It is similar to collage, a two-dimensional medium. It is part of the visual ar ...

Ramos-Poquí refers to his intimate works of the 1980s as ‘symbolic paintings' which were followed during the 90s by a series driven by urban inspiration known as ‘Satirical and Metaphysical Urban paintings’, executed while he was developing digital
photomontages Photomontage is the process and the result of making a composite photograph by cutting, gluing, rearranging and overlapping two or more photographs into a new image. Sometimes the resulting composite image is photographed so that the final image ...
. Having already produced lithographs and etchings, it was during this period that he explored the possibilities of this new digital medium. His digital
photomontages Photomontage is the process and the result of making a composite photograph by cutting, gluing, rearranging and overlapping two or more photographs into a new image. Sometimes the resulting composite image is photographed so that the final image ...
were exhibited in London. They were praised by art critics including :es: José Corredor-Matheos and reviewed in many London papers. In 2001 he was commissioned to design the book covers for the Open University course 'Exploring Psychology.' His assemblages, of a satirical nature, were exhibited both in London and Belfast.


Painting-collages

File:Proposition_A.jpg, 'Proposition a' 2013. Painting on canvas File:Confines_of_Freedom.jpg, 'The Confines of Freedom' 2013. Painting on canvas''. His 2014 painting-collages were exhibited at the Royal Artistic Circle of Barcelona alongside some examples of his works from the 60s which he had exhibited in Paris in 1965 at the Cité internationale des arts. The art critic :ca:Pilar Parcerisas i Colomer reviewed the show for ''
El Temps ''El Temps'' (; 'The Times') is a weekly newsmagazine, published in Valencia by ''Edicions del País Valencià'' since 1984. It is distributed throughout the whole Països Catalans. It is edited by Eliseu Climent. The publication has offices in ...
'' and noted the works' unique approach to technique which incorporated egg tempera, sand, acrylic and objects from a mirror shard to a clock face. She also pointed out his references to works by the
Old Masters In art history, "Old Master" (or "old master")Old Masters De ...
, including Dürer's ''Melancholia''.


Mixed-media collages

File:Cloud_collage.jpg, 'Cloud' 2014, mixed-media collage on white card File:Symposium_collage.jpg, 'Symposium' 2014, mixed-media collage on Japanese paper''. In his recent 2014 mixed-media collages ' found objects', text and fragments of reproductions by the
old masters In art history, "Old Master" (or "old master")Old Masters De ...
interact with the other elements of the composition. Found objects include dried flowers and leaves, insects, feathers, bottle tops and mirrors, broken clocks, pieces of embroidery, threaded paper, fragments of text or musical scores, and crystals. All of these elements possess intrinsic metaphorical values and, in terms of contrasts of textures, colours and formal transformations, relate to the artist's work as a painter as well as his early collages and assemblages. They affirm that the old masters remain an inspiration to contemporary artists today in their endeavour to interpret the world. A catalogue of these collages includes an introduction by Professor
David Jasper David Jasper (born 1 August 1951) is a theologian, Professor Emeritus of Literature and Theology at the University of Glasgow. Jasper collected multiple degrees from Oxford in both English and Theology. He graduated in English from Jesus Colleg ...
, an expert in the field of Hermeneutics ( University of Glasgow). He describes his mixed-media collages thus: ''In the complex and riddling collages of Guillem Ramos-Poquí we might glimpse a recovery of the art of memory as it is rooted in the sense of sight, and in its further verbalisations, a haunting presence of the divine in the midst of the contradictions and strange encounters in the world around us.''David Jasper. Foreword: 'Reflections on Reflections' from the 2015 Catalogue of Recent Works by Guillem Ramos-Poquí: 'Mirror Spaces: Reflections on Culture and the Ephemeral'.


Selected exhibitions


1965–1970 (Collage, Mixed media, Arte Povera, Conceptual Art and Installations

* 1965: Paris: Cité internationale des arts, Paris (one-man show) * 1965: Barcelona: Lleonart Gallery, Barcelona (one-man show) * 1966: Paris : Galerie des Beaux Arts * 1967: Barcelona: Institute of North American Studies, Barcelona. * 1967: Ibiza (Spain) Ivan Spencer Gallery * 1967: New York: One Eleven Gallery * 1968: New York: The Art of the East Village * 1968: London: The Arts Lab, Drury Lane (one-man show) * 1968: Cuenca: (Spain) Casa de la Cultura (Museum of Spanish Abstract Art) * 1970: Essex: (England) Wansfell College Gardens, Epping, (one-man show)


1971–1973: Geometric abstraction: Color Field paintings

* 1971: Barcelona: Aquitania Gallery, Barcelona (one-man show) * 1971: London: Spanish Institute (one-man) * 1972: Barcelona & Madrid: Institute of North American Studies (one-man show) * 1973: London: Institute of Contemporary Art (I.C.A.)


1981–1996: Paintings

* 1981: London: Camden Arts Centre * 1982: Paris:
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* 1982: Paris: Galerie des Beaux Arts * 1984: London: Chenil Gallery (two one-man shows) * 1985: London: Royal Horticultural Halls * 1987: London: Blenheim Gallery (one-man show) * 1987: Oxford:
Oxford Central Library Oxford Westgate Library is the main public library in the city of Oxford, England. The library opened in its current location in 1973 as Oxford Central Library above shops in Westgate, Oxford. Over 500,000 items are available for loan. The lib ...
* 1989: London: Englands & Co. Art Gallery * 1989: London: Milne Moller Gallery. 1989: London: Tabernacle Gallery ( Tabernacle, Notting Hill) * 1991: London: Sweetwaters Art Gallery (one-man show) * 1992: London: Tricycle Art Gallery (one-man show) * 1994: London:
Queen Elizabeth Hall The Queen Elizabeth Hall (QEH) is a music venue on the South Bank in London, England, that hosts classical, jazz, and avant-garde music, talks and dance performances. It was opened in 1967, with a concert conducted by Benjamin Britten. The ...
, South Bank * 1994: Barcelona: Salón del Tinell. 1996: London: The Mall Galleries ( Federation of British Artists * 1996: London: Eurofair'96, Royal Horticultural Halls (one-man show)


1997–2004: Digital Art (Photomontages), Assemblages

* 1997: Brighton: University of Brighton Art Gallery * 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002: London: Colville Place Gallery * 1999: Barcelona: Caligrama Art Gallery (April – May) * 2003, 2004: London: Deluxe Gallery, 2-4 Hoxton Square, London * 2004: Belfast: Catalyst Arts Gallery Set-Oct (one-man show) Northern Ireland


2007–2014: Painting, Painting-collages, Mixed-media Collages

* 2007, 2008: London: Bernard Chauchet Gallery, London SW10. (June and December collectives). * 2008: London: Royal Academy Summer Exhibition * 2008: Santander: Sala Nao * 2008: London: Royal Overseas League Club (Open Door Exhibition) Piccadilly * 2010: London: Morley Gallery * 2011: Barcelona: Casa Elizalde Centro Cultural * 2013: London: Tabernacle Gallery * 2014: Barcelona: Reial Cercle Artistic de Barcelona


References


External links

* http://www.ramos-poqui.com * http://digitalartmuseum.org/ramos-poqui/index.html


Catalan bibliography

* Alexandre Cirici: 'La nova plàstica catalana: Abstracció significativa: Ramos-Poquí' Serra D'Or, maig 1968 * Alexandre Cirici: 'Nueva pintura catalana' text catàleg exposició, Casa de la Cultura Cuenca, abril 1968 * Alexandre Cirici: 'Ramos-Poquí el 1971' text catàleg expo.Institut d'estudis nord-Americans, Barcelona-Madrid,1972 * Alexandre Cirici: 'Objectes Pobres, objectes conceptuals: iniciadors'. Serra D'Or, febrer 1972. * Alexandre Cirici: 'L'art català contemporani'. Edicions 62 Barcelona 1970, pp. 294, 296, 372. * José Corredor Matheos: 'Història de l'art català Vol. IX (La segona meitat del segle XX)' Edicions 62, 1996, Precursors de del art Povera, manifestacions de lo efímer, els objectes de Ramos-Poquí, pp. 91–92 * José Corredor-Matheos: 'Guillem Ramos-Poquí. Collages, Paintings, Assemblages, Digital Photomontages: Paris Barcelona London-1965–2001 ('Foreword' del catàleg, 2001, publicat per la Colville Gallery de Londres). * Laura Plana: 'Guillem Ramos-Poquí: Introducció i revisió cronològica de la obra: Obra retrospectiva 1965–2009 i Pintures recents 2010–2013' (catàleg digital) 2013


Bibliography: Digital photomontages

* The Times Higher Education Supplement: Multimedia: 14 March 1997: Pages II-III * "Digital print and the pursuit of a perfect image" by Guillem Ramos-Poquí (with 1 colour reproduction) * CGI -Computer Generated Imaging Magazine (London N1 8DU UK): Vol 3 – Issue 1: January 1998. Page 16 "Environmentally friendly" (with 4 colour reproductions) * CGI -Computer Generated Imaging Magazine (London N1 8DU UK): Vol 3 – Issue 2: January 1998. Page 8 "News: Gaze the Maze..." (with 1 colour reproduction) * Computer Arts Magazine (Future Publishing, Bath BA1 2BW UK): Issue 17: April 1998. Page 108 Exposure: "Images from the Hermeneutical Maze" (with 4 colour reproductions) * The Daily Telegraph Newspaper: Connected Colour Supplement (London UK): Thurs 30 April 1998. Pages 1,10-11 "Caught in the Gallery Door" by Paul Fisher (with 1 colour reproduction and 1 in b&w) * Creative Technology Magazine (St John Patrick Publishers. London SE1 9AG): April 1998. Page 10 Folio (with 1 colour reproduction) * Art Review Magazine (London EC1A 9LB UK): May 1998. Pages 58–61 "Computers...The Last Frontier. Part I" by Brian Ashbee (with 3 colour reproductions) * Art Review Magazine (London EC1A 9LB UK): June 1998. Pages 48–49 "Computers...The Last Frontier. Part II" by Brian Ashbee (with 3 colour reproductions) * The Times Higher Education Supplement: Digital: 27 November 1998. Page 11 "The Pixel Problem" by Claire Neesham * The Times Higher Education Supplement: Digital: 8 October 1999. Page 14: "Beyond Words" (with one colour reproduction) * SAGE Publications: Cover for "Social Work & Social Policy" catalogue. SAGE Publications, London 2000. (One colour reproduction of work from 1999). * The Times Higher Education Supplement, 25 May 2001: Page 12: "Poetry in Motion" (1 colour reproduction) * The Observer (Business/Cash Supplement), Sunday 27 January 2002. Pages: 12-13: "Pixels into pounds"/ "The Digital Masters" by John Windsor (1 colour reproduction across) * The Irish News, Sat 2 Oct 2004, page 49. Exhibition Review at the Cathalyst Art Gallery, Belfast. By Aisling MCrea (1 colour reproduction) * Artists in Britain Since 1945 (Vol 2: M to Z, pp 1312). David Buckman. Art Dictionaries Ltd, Bristol. 2006. * "The Paint Box Era": Artists in the Digital Art Museum, Berlin (DAM) www.dam.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Ramos-Poqui, Guillem Painters from Catalonia 21st-century Spanish painters Spanish male painters Painters from Barcelona Arte Povera 1944 births Living people Spanish contemporary artists 21st-century Spanish male artists