JOSEP GUINOVART

Josep Guinovart (1927-2007) was a Spanish painter primarily known for his informalist or abstract expressionist works. In 1941, he began working as a decorator. Three years later, he started studying at the Escuela de Artes y Oficios de la Llotja art school, where he remained until 1946.

He first exhibited in 1948 at Galerías Syla in Barcelona. In 1951, he created his first engravings titled "Homage to Federico García Lorca." Two years later, he received a scholarship from the French Institute for a nine-month study trip to Paris. There, he discovered the Cubist works of Matisse and Picasso and traveled through Belgium, Holland, and Germany. He dedicated himself to abstract art. His works are very unconventional and usually large-scale, using a wide range of materials, three-dimensional objects, and organic substances such as eggshells, clay, and straw.

In 2006, he designed the Mas Blanch i Jové winery in La Pobla de Cérvoles (Lleida) and created The Artists' Vineyard project, which aimed to mix sculptures and other artworks by various artists in the middle of the vineyard. The Artists' Vineyard was inaugurated after his death in 2010 with the unveiling of his sculpture Rural Organs: a 6-meter-high musical instrument on which the wind sings to the vines. The 10.5-meter work In Vino Veritas and other works by the artist are also exhibited in this winery.