Josep DOMENECH

One of Spain’s most talented artists, Domenech was born in Barcelona in 1952. His family were carpenters and he grew up in an atmosphere of craftsmanship, handsaws, chisels, files, planks, nails and hammers, although his first love was always drawing and painting.

Domenech studied art at the Tarrega Academy and at the Massana School of Arts and Crafts in Barcelona Domenech had some paintings in a private show, when the public saw his art for the first time. . He continued to learn, experiment and develop his individual style. At the age of only 22,
Since then, Domenech’s reputation has grown steadily. In 1985, he won an art award in Spain, which led to him being invited to exhibit at many art galleries. In 1989, he was able to give up carpentry to devote himself to painting full time, and he has had many exhibitions in Spain, the UK, and USA.
Domenech’s art is his passion, and his paintings radiate extraordinary beauty, sensitivity and emotion. He says of his work: ‘I express myself through objects, figures, situations, feelings and self-reflection. I yearn for peace and quiet and the female figure gives me that stillness and sensibility… I aim to convey reflection, shyness, love and peace through the female form.’

Domenech’s technique has an unusual aspect where he does not use paintbrushes. The only brush that he has in his studio is one that hangs from the ceiling. He put it there himself as a talisman, and whenever he has a visitor, he points out this brush as the only one that you will see in his studio. Instead, he uses a form of impasto, building up layer upon layer of paint on his canvas. He works with a powerful flurry of activity, moving the heavily diluted paint around with his fingers or scrubbing away with pieces of cloth. It is as though he has gone back to the fresco tradition, but reinterpreted it in his own highly individual style. It is clear from his work that Domenech has studied the great masters at length and has a deep understanding of their work.

He enjoys painting figurative work, as much as still life, which both catch a moment of time. They stir the imagination and give you a strange feeling of a distant memory. On the surface, Domenech is a calm and courteous man, but as he works, he burns with an intensity and passion that is the mark of a great artist, who never stops striving to further his craft.

Domenech gives concrete from the invisible, the feeling of nostalgia, the quiet sense of interior peace, and the lovers’ moment of happiness. In his work, there are no guidelines, only recurrent themes with different approaches- similar images and soft views against the light in a dreamlike atmosphere of doubt and ambiguity. Everything in Domenech’s work is subject to deep meditation. He himself defines it as something ‘experimental’ with a clear element of spirituality, the blurred shapes and transparencies creating the mirage of the moment. There is nothing accidental about Domenech’s extraordinary work.

The ivory light rising from the centre of the canvas enfolding all the shapes, the sober luxury of toasted sienna, indigo and black as well as light touch of the Mediterranean blue, provide the backbone of each painting. They are part of a whole, coherent and inseparable from either their context or their absolute autonomy. Each of Domenech’s paintings is the result of great endeavor and meditation and his search for constant improvement. His work displays a combination of inner and outer beauty and satisfaction of a job well done.

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