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Morocco is Present II
Original title: El Marroc hi és present II
1993
Oil and enamel on canvas
Dimensions: 125.5 x 200 cm
Reference: ACF0248
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The work produced by Pijuan in the mid-seventies—almost two decades before he painted these two pieces—was characterised by the stable rhythm of the brushstroke, modulating pitted textures on the canvas’ surface while harmonising the light, and by a steady gradation of monochrome colour, giving the sensation that the painting is alive and in motion. In his paintings from the nineties, such as El Marroc hi és present II and Solcs amb llum d’argent, a trace of the stable rhythm appears, structuring a geometrical weft of varying degrees of flexibility or rigidity. At this point, the artist added industrial or synthetic enamel to the oil paints, as he had already done on some of the canvases from the previous decade. Doing so gave the surface a fleshy texture, allowing him to obtain both the incision of drawing directly into the paste itself and its linear and purely chromatic presence. In many of these works—including these two—the canvas catches the light through techniques exclusive to painting, without any naturalistic reference whatsoever. It results from the ribbing produced by the brush and the contrast created by the mesh, as well as the interplay of colours and how the underlying shades shine through the last visible layer of paint. The theme of latticework—evident in El Marroc hi és present II, with its allusion to the North African country—refers us to a dialectic that has been central to Pijuan’s aesthetic understanding: the dialectic between open space (the landscape seen from outside) and private space (seen through the slit imposed by the windows of the workshop-studio). The life of this artist has unfolded between these two horizons.

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