Josep Llorens i Artigas

Josep Llorens i Artigas (16 June 1892 – 11 December 1980) was a Spanish ceramic artist known for his collaboration with Joan Miró. He is credited with relaunching ceramics as a European art form.

Life

Artigas was born in Barcelona on 16 June 1892. He went to Escola superior d'arts i indústries i belles arts. He worked as an art critic on the Barcelona-based newspaper La Veu.

In 1936 he returned to Barcelona during the Spanish Civil War. He earned his living by teaching ceramics. In 1941 he began to extend his influence over ceramics when he became a teacher at the Escuela Massana in Barcelona. In 1944 he started his and his family's long partnership with Joan Miró, initially creating vases.

In 1953 Miró and Artigas worked at Artigas's studio in Gallifa near Barcelona. There they created "firestones" which they exhibited under their joint names including in 1956 a joint exhibition in New York. The following year the two worked on a mural for the UNESCO headquarters They were originally displayed outside but they are now contained within a building built to preserve them. Miró was to win a Guggenheim Prize for one of the murals in 1958.

The two worked together until Artigas's failing health meant that his son, Joan Gardy Artigas, took over his role.

Llorens i Artigas died in 1980 in his home city. In 1989 his son set up a foundation in the name of his father which exists to improve both artists and their art.