This exquisite lithograph by Joan Hernandez Pijuan (1931–2005), titled Sin titulo (Untitled), from the album Ediciones Poligrafa, Barcelona - Redfern Gallery, London, originates from the 1979 edition published by Ediciones Poligrafa, Barcelona, in collaboration with Redfern Gallery, London; printed by La Poligrafa, S.A., Barcelona, October 23, 1979. This artwork reflects Hernandez Pijuan’s refined and contemplative visual language, where subtle gesture, spatial restraint, and delicate tonal variation evoke landscape as memory, emphasizing the poetic tension between presence and absence.
Executed as a lithograph on velin d'Arches paper. 10 x 7.5 inches. Unsigned and unnumbered as issued. The edition exemplifies the refined craftsmanship of La Poligrafa atelier, one of the most important print workshops in postwar Spain.
Artwork Details:
Artist: Joan Hernandez Pijuan (1931–2005)
Title: Sin titulo (Untitled), from Ediciones Poligrafa, Barcelona - Redfern Gallery, London, 1979
Medium: Lithograph on velin d'Arches paper
Dimensions: 10 x 7.5 inches
Inscription: Unsigned and unnumbered as issued
Date: 1979
Publisher: Ediciones Poligrafa, Barcelona, in collaboration with Redfern Gallery, London
Printer: La Poligrafa, S.A., Barcelona
Condition: Well preserved, consistent with age and medium
Provenance: From Ediciones Poligrafa, Barcelona - Redfern Gallery, London, 1979
Notes:
Excerpted from the album, This album has been published for the exhibition of artists who have worked for Ediciones Poligrafa, Barcelona, at the Redfern Gallery, 20 Cork Street, London W. 1, from December 4th, 1979, to January 31st, 1980. This album was finished in Barcelona on 23rd October 1979 on the presses of La Poligrafa, S.A. The English edition for the Redfern Gallery has been limited to M examples. There is also a deluxe edition with a portfolio containing a selection of the lithographs with full margins, 37 1/2 x 27 cm., specially made for this album, signed and limited to C examples. Ediciones Poligrafa, Barcelona - Redfern Gallery, London
About the Publication:
Ediciones Poligrafa, Barcelona - Redfern Gallery, London, published in 1979, represents a significant collaborative exhibition album produced to accompany an international presentation of artists associated with Ediciones Poligrafa, one of Spain’s most influential postwar publishing houses. Conceived as both a documentation of artistic production and a collectible portfolio, the album brought together works by leading contemporary artists whose practices reflected the dynamic evolution of European abstraction and printmaking in the late twentieth century. Produced at the renowned La Poligrafa workshop in Barcelona, the publication exemplifies the high technical standards and collaborative spirit that defined Spanish printmaking during this period. Issued in conjunction with the exhibition at the Redfern Gallery in London, the album underscores the growing international dialogue between Spanish and British art institutions, while serving as a testament to the role of publishers and print ateliers in disseminating modern and contemporary art across cultural boundaries.
About the Artist:
Joan Hernandez Pijuan (1931–2005) was a Spanish painter, printmaker, and influential educator whose refined, meditative abstraction and deeply introspective engagement with landscape established him as one of the most important figures in postwar Spanish art and a leading voice within European minimal and lyrical abstraction, creating a body of work defined by restraint, intellectual rigor, and poetic resonance. Born in Barcelona, he studied at the Escola de Belles Arts de Sant Jordi and emerged during a pivotal moment in Catalonia’s artistic renewal, initially working within a structured figurative language before progressively reducing his compositions to their essential elements, developing a distinctive visual vocabulary of expansive, often monochromatic fields interrupted by subtle lines, marks, and gestures that evoke memory, territory, and the passage of time. Working within the broader lineage shaped by Pablo Picasso, Joan Miro, and Salvador Dali, he absorbed the lessons of modernism while also engaging with the innovations of Alexander Calder, Alberto Giacometti, Wassily Kandinsky, Marcel Duchamp, and Man Ray, synthesizing these influences into a contemplative and highly personal approach that merges material sensitivity with philosophical depth. His mature works from the 1970s onward reflect a profound dialogue with the landscape, particularly the Catalan countryside, not as representation but as experience, suggesting fields, paths, and horizons through minimal means while emphasizing the tension between presence and absence. Closely associated with contemporaries such as Antoni Tapies, Josep Guinovart, Antonio Saura, and Eduardo Chillida, Hernandez Pijuan contributed significantly to redefining painting in the postwar period through a focus on perception, reduction, and the emotional potential of surface and space. In addition to his artistic achievements, he was a highly respected teacher and director of the Faculty of Fine Arts at the University of Barcelona, where he influenced generations of younger artists and reinforced his intellectual impact on contemporary art. His work has had a lasting influence on later artists working in minimalism, conceptual abstraction, and landscape-based practices, including contemporary painters exploring themes of memory, territory, and perception through restrained formal languages. Today his works are held in major institutional collections including the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia in Madrid, the Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona, the Fundacio Joan Miro, and numerous international museums and private collections, affirming his enduring importance within the global art historical canon. His paintings and works on paper remain highly sought after on the international art market, and the highest auction record for Joan Hernandez Pijuan was achieved at Christie’s, Madrid, on October 4, 2006, when a major painting sold for approximately 350,000 EUR, underscoring his continued appeal among collectors and his status as a leading figure in Spanish abstraction.
Joan Hernandez Pijuan Sin titulo 1979 lithograph Poligrafa Redfern Gallery Spanish abstract print Hernandez Pijuan collectible lithograph.
