Joan Ponç

Barcelona, 1927 – Sant Pau, 1984

Joan Ponç Bonet was born in the Sarrià neighbourhood of Barcelona, he studied drawing and painting in Ramón Rogent’s workshop. He meets Joan Vinyals, his first art dealer, and Joan Brossa. In 1946, in Bilbao, he held his first exhibition, which ended up being a failure. This, added to an exhibition that he does in Barcelona and which will not be very successful either, leads him to an economic crisis.

In 1948, the year of the creation of the group and the magazine Dau al Set, he met Joan Miró, who would have a strong influence on his work. During 1949 he experienced a slight economic recovery and exhibited in the Galeries Laietanas and the Salón de los Once. But, from this moment, and until 1953, he noticeably lowered his artistic production. He will travel between Paris and São Paulo, where he creates an Institution dedicated to plastic research.

Joan Ponç’s work is full of surreal magic and complex themes. It is also important to highlight his work as an engraver and the illustrations he made for some works by J. V. Foix, Joan Fuster and Luis Goytisolo.