Joan Clapera i Mayà

Joan Clapera i Mayà , often called "Clapera Mayà" for short (born September 6, 1929 in Olot ; † January 17, 2018 ibid) was a Catalan painter who followed the tradition of the Olot School . It went through an expressionist and, from the 1960s, a cubist phase in terms of structure and a fauvist phase in terms of colors . From the 1970s onwards, constructivism disappeared in his work and turned into surrealism at the limits of abstraction .

Clapera-Mayà attended the " Escola de Belles Artes " in Olot between the ages of 12 and 17 . For family reasons, he had to drop out of training for a few years. In 1953 he returned to the art school where he learned drawing, painting, engraving and enamel under the guidance of Martí Casadevall and Pere Gussinyé . In 1955 he joined the artist group Cràter d'Art (German: Krater der Kunst). After participating in some competitions, he had his first individual exhibition in Olot in 1961.

Clapera Mayà belonged to the generation of artists born around 1930 who, like the Olotens painters Josep Pujol , Pere Plana i Puig or Àngel Codinach, brought about an artistic renewal of the Olot School in a highly creative and innovative manner compared to their predecessors, who were committed to classical landscape painting after the Spanish Civil War . Clapera Mayà's paintings are primarily characterized by a naive admiration for field work. His main motif in all levels of abstraction are straw dolls (straw stacks) (Catalan: pallers) and scarecrows (Catalan: espantall or espanta-ocells) standing in the field . In such motifs he processed his childhood love for the Garrotxa and the volcanic landscape around Olot, which he had acquired during extensive hikes . The landscape in Clapera Mayà's work is not simply objective reality; it is something that the artist himself brings to life with his intuition and sensitivity.

literature

• Domènec Moli; Josep Valls; Jordi Pujiula: Clapera Mayà d'Olot . With pictures by Joan Clapera Mayà and articles in Catalan and translations into English, French, Portuguese and Spanish. Olot 2001, OCLC 807860154 (Catalan).
• Arnau i Prades, M. Assumpció; Sala i Plana, Joan: L'art olotí en el XIX i XX, Joan Clapera i Mayà . 1st ed.Diputació de Girona, Girona 2013, ISBN 978-84-15808-03-9 , chap. 32 , p. 78 (Catalan).
• Domenec Moli: Joan Clapera-Maya . In: Viçens Coromina (ed.): Olot Art, Doscents Anys de Pintura . Olot 1979, OCLC 803497564 , pp. 76-86 (Catalan).
• Viçens Coromina (Ed.): 80 Artistes Olotins del anys 80 / Joan Clapera Mayà . Olot 1982, OCLC 434435958 , pp. 48 f . (Catalan).
• Josep Maria Canals: Diccionari Biogràfic d'Olot, article “Clapera i Mayà, Joan” . Ed .: Ajuntament d'Olot. 1st edition. Olot 2015, OCLC 943687866 , p. 215 (Catalan).

Web links

• Salarusinyol.net (Sant Cugat del Vallès): Clapera Mayà - picture gallery. Retrieved January 18, 2018 (Spanish). 
• Salarusinyol.net (Sant Cugat del Vallès): Clapera Mayà - CV. Retrieved January 18, 2018 (Spanish). 

Individual references and comments

1. ↑ The date of birth is taken from the 2001 illustrated book "Clapera Mayà d'Olot", published by Joan Clapera i Mayà himself. Arnau i Prades and Sala i Plana as well as Josep M. Canals also state 1929 as the year of birth. On the Internet in connection with auctions and even in the VIAF , the definitely wrong year of birth 1931 and the year of death 2008 appear. The wrongly given year of birth 1931 is probably due to a misstatement in the 15-volume: "Diccionario de Pintores y Escultores Españoles del Siglo XX", 1994. The date of death follows a report on the Radio Olot website on January 17, 2018.
2. ↑ El Punt Avui: Joan Clapera Mayà (obituary) . In: El Punt Avui . January 18, 2018 (Catalan, elpuntavui.cat [accessed January 18, 2018]).
3. ↑ Diari de Girona: Mor Clapera Mayà, el pintor dels volcans, els pallers i els espantaocells de la Garrotxa (obituary) . January 18, 2018 (Catalan, diaridegirona.cat [accessed January 18, 2018]).
4. ↑ The Catalan newspaper El Punt Avui ends its obituary of January 18, 2018 with the following curious remark: "Com a curiositat, mentre que no n'hi ha cap referència a la Viquipèdia catalana, sí que se'n troba una en alemany." It is said: “It is curious that Clapera-Maya was not listed in the Catalan-language Wikipedia. It was only found in German Wikipedia. ”The original German author of the article knows Clapera Maya's work and got to know the very old Clapera Maya personally through his Catalan wife. He values ​​the work of this painter and highly valued people. Shortly after this obituary by El Punt Avui , a corresponding article was also posted in the Catalan Wikipedia. Many thanks to the author.