JOAN HERNÁNDEZ PIJUAN
Barcelona, Spain, 1931–2005
Director of Fundación Botín Art Workshop in 1995

 Memoria de Monegros, 1994
Oil on canvas
114 × 162 cm
Acquired in 1995

The physical presence of the landscape and its translation into painting are central to the artistic practice of Joan Hernández Pijuan. Rather than simply representing, the artist seeks to transpose the sensation of space and the texture of his subject matter, aiming to create a mental image.

While at first glance the work may appear abstract, closer inspection reveals what could be a path leading towards a distant mountain range—rendered not by painting it directly, but by subtly relieving the thickness of the applied material on the canvas. This is also suggested by the title, which refers to the Los Monegros desert in Aragón, a landscape whose texture and colouring are echoed in the work’s dominant tones.