|
|
Joan Colomer Valls (
b. 1965 )

Joan Colomer was raised amid the rich artistic heritage of his
family and the inspirational landscape tradition immediately
surrounding him. Born in San Feliu De Pallerols, near Olol in the
Catalonia region of Spain, in 1965, Colomer was intimately shaped
by the pastoral countryside of deep forests and rolling hills that
lent its name to the Olotina Landscape School, founded by painter
Joaquim Vayreda over one hundred and twenty five years ago.
Colomer learned to paint at a young age, alongside of his two
brothers, under the tutelage of his father, also an artist.
Colomer
painted steadily, mastering complicated techniques quickly,
interrupting his rapid progress only to attend university in
Barcelona. After receiving his degree in philosophy and liberal
arts, Colomer based himself in Madrid and travelled extensively to
study masterpieces in the world's greatest museums. Colomer
ardently studied the styles of master painters while painting and
intensively developing his own. In 1990 he married and continued
his studies in Madrid at the Municipal School of Beaux Arts. Soon
after, he started exhibiting work in both Barcelona and Madrid. In
1993 Colomer moved to the countryside where he currently resides
with his wife.
For Colomer, painting is primal. I can't think of living without
doing it. To say it in other words, I live to paint. This
consistent and driving force in his life led him to constantly
self-analyze. If I paint a landscape or even if I decide to paint
a concrete object, it is because it has brought to my mind some
remembrances and associations that I have to express urgently.
Something very different is the result. I never know which way the
painting will go while I'm working because sometimes the painting
comes to life and develops its own destiny.
To
Colomer, the sky sets the tone and intensity of the work. It is
the most important part of his piece. Slowly, one color calls
another; it's nearly a question of obedience. I can't force the
harmonies. They just flow from my hand. For Colomer, the harmony
just happens. When asked who his artistic heroes are, Colomer
eloquently replies, I'd like to have Beruete's touch, Sorolla's
light, Hopper's balance, Corot's gracefulness, Daubighny's vision,
Monet's color, Vermeer's mystery, Mauve's atmosphere, and Velázquez's
knowledge. The influence of each can be seen in Colomer's work.
The roots of my artistic expression are both deeply cerebral and
emotional. I realized this one morning, looking at my father, who
was about to start a new work. He stood there, looking at the
white canvas, for a long time. I tried to feel what was happening
in those moments, an impulse, and urgent necessity of
self-expression. That is the origin which later becomes an
intuition, a thought's structure, an artistic design creation.
Having everything ready, his hand started to form. At that time I
realized that Leonardo was right: painting is a mental act.
|
|