Jordi Curós i Ventura

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Jordi Curós i Ventura (born March 4, 1930 in Olot ; † June 14, 2017 in Barcelona ) was a Catalan draftsman and painter who attended the Escola d'Arts i Oficis . After an initial artistic phase, in which he mainly emerged as a draftsman, a phase of non-figurative painting followed from 1958 to 1963. In his later phase he switched to colorful figurative painting.

The phenomenon

Jordi Curós graduated from the Escola d'Arts i Oficis , the art school in Olot , from 1943 to 1947 . However, he belonged to the group of Olotensian artists who had already gone beyond the scope of their Olotensian origins at the beginning of their careers. Accordingly, the art critic Sempronio raises the following question in his Curós article: "How do you treat a painter who was born in Olot, but has developed in a completely unique direction, undeterred by the Olotensian art localism?" They told of Curós that Salvador When Dalí saw a picture of him for the first time, he said: “That's a German painter!” In fact, this artist was totally expressionistic in his early phase . His paintings were full of color; his drawings showed very energetic lines. Curós - although Olotensian through and through - had nothing to do with Olot's painting in terms of his approach. He knew the local Olotens history very well, loved the people around him, the beech forest, the mountains and nowhere did he feel as comfortable as in Olot. But neither thematically nor stylistically, one could easily associate him with the successors of Joaquim Vayreda and Josep Berga i Boix . At the end of such studies, art critics such as Sempronio come to the conclusion that Curó's work must be counted among the best not only of the Olotensians, but of all contemporary Catalan painting.

The early phase

In his article on Curós, Sempronio describes how he met him at the annual city festival of Olot. “Instead of the announced artist, I was met by a real shepherd, somewhat short and corpulent. Years later, he asked me to write the texts for an Auca in verse , which ultimately represented his biography. I learned that as a young boy he had tended pigs in the farmhouse L'Isidret (Little Isidor). ”As a real Olotenser artist, he had also worked for L'Art Cristià for a while. The “factory of the saints” is, so to speak, the essence of Olotinism. He had also studied at the Olot Art School . But his thinking went beyond this Olotensian horizon from the start. He has read many art books and numerous art articles. For him, these media represented an open window to the world that showed him a freer, stronger, more risk-laden artistic panorama. So he got to know the art of the homo terribilis of the time, Vincent van Gogh , and his bright suns. This artistic world was far from his everyday art world in Olot, where he painted or could paint on Sundays. Curós had his first solo exhibition in 1950 at the El Jardin de Barcelona gallery . The director at the time, Àngel Marsà, had a lot of experience in discovering and establishing young artists. Other artists such as Rafael Llimona i Benet , Domènec Carles i Rosich , Rafael Benet i Vancells , Joan Teixidor i Comes and Alexandre Cirici i Pellicer had already spoken or written about the young Curós. In 1951 Curós took part in the October Salon in Barcelona.

The non-figurative phase

Curós lived artistically from a strong intuition. Aware of the fact that drawing represents the backbone of painting, Curós had drawn intensely throughout his life. As a master of the pencil he had received the Ynglada-Guillot Prize in Barcelona in 1967 . In his non-figurative phase from 1958 to 1963 he created numerous colored arabesques. In terms of their expressiveness, they come close to comparable works by Joan Miró or Raoul Dufy , and their powerful lyricism surpasses the plasticism of Pablo Picasso . Due to his rebellious nature, he allowed himself to be tempted by some artistic -ism during this time . In the late 1950s and early 1960s, for example, it was influenced by the informalism prevailing in Paris and a little later by the schematic and sometimes rigid buffet style, which was highly praised by French art critics . Curós, who had gained increasing standing as an artist since the early 1950s, mastered these temptations. In 1953, the art expert Eugeni d'Ors Curós took him on alongside the painters Antoni Tàpies , Miquel Villà i Bassols and Joan Brotat i Vilanova in his private art group Salón de los Once (Circle of the Eleven Art Forms ).

The figurative late phase

In 1954 and 1958, Curós was given a grant, the first from the Institut français of Barcelona, ​​the second from the city of Barcelona, ​​to study art in Paris. Returned from Paris with a new approach to figurative painting. His new figurative approach did not exaggerate the picturesque and was characterized by an elegant restraint. This second figurative work avoids any pedantry, arrogance and empty transcendence. It looks playful and optimistic. It always puts you in a good mood. At the same time Curós shows a total openness to artistic experiments. He designs aucas, art tiles or paints fans. So above all in Cadaques - inspired by the Costa Brava - joyful works of heaven, earth, air and sea and people in these elements were created. Curós celebrated this world in his art.

literature

  • Enciclopèdia Catalana: Curós i Ventura, Jordi . In: Gran enciclopèdia catalana. 2nd edition 5th reprint 1992. Volume 8 . Enciclopèdia catalana, Barcelona 1987, ISBN 84-85194-96-9 , p. 414 (Catalan).
  • Josep Maria Canals: Diccionari Biogràfic d'Olot; Article “Curós i Ventura, Jordi” . Ed .: Ajuntament d'Olot. 1st edition. Olot 2015, OCLC 943687866 , p. 266 f . (Catalan).
  • Sempronio (Andreu-Avel lí Artís i Tomàs): Olot Art, Doscents Anys de Pintura . Jordi Curós. Ed .: Viçens Coromina. Olot 1979, OCLC 803497564 , pp. 119-128 (Catalan).
  • Viçens Coromina (Ed.): 80 Artistes Olotins del anys 80 . Jordi Curós. Olot 1982, OCLC 434435958 , pp. 58 f . (Catalan).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Lavanguardia.com: Jordi Curós i Ventura ( obituary ). June 16, 2017, Retrieved March 18, 2018 (Catalan).
  2. ↑ a b c Sempronio: Olot Art, Doscents Anys de Pintura . Jordi Curós. Ed .: Viçens Coromina. Olot 1979, OCLC 803497564 , pp. 119-128 (Catalan).
  3. ^ So the evaluation of the Catalan art magazine Ariel in June 1950; quoted from Sempronio 1979.
personal data
SURNAME Curós i Ventura, Jordi
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Curós, Jordi
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Catalan painter
DATE OF BIRTH March 4, 1930
PLACE OF BIRTH Olot
DATE OF DEATH June 14, 2017
Place of death Barcelona