Joan-Josep Tharrats

Who is Joan-Josep Tharrats?

Joan-Josep Tharrats i Vidal was a Catalan painter, art theorist and publisher.

Born in an industralist family, his father was the businessman and poet Josep Tharrats i Vilà. From 1932 to 1935 he lived in Béziers, before relocating to Barcelona where he studied at the Escola Massana. The Spanish Civil War brought his studies to an end, and he wouldn't resume his art career until 1942. His initial style was akin to Impressionism but moved into abstraction as the influence of Piet Mondrian and Wassily Kandinsky became more important to him. From 1946 on he used collage techniques. In 1947 he was introduced to artists Arnau Puig Grau, Joan Ponç, Modest Cuixart, Antoni Tàpies, Joan Brossa and Josep Vicenç Foix at the Institut Français in Barcelona. With some of these artists he founded the group Dau al Set, which published the magazine of the same name, printed in his atelier.

He was one of the most visible artists in the local avantgarde art of the post-war years. His style evolved from lineal abstraction influenced by surrealism towards Art Informel working with texture, color and graphism. His work also includes a variety of posters, books, murals, stained glass, mosaics, jewelry and opera scenography. També va fer cartells, il·lustrà llibres i va fer murals, vitralls, mosaics, joies i fins i tot escenografies d'òpera.