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oan Vila Grau, Barcelona 1932 - Barcelona 2022. A multidisciplinary artist, painter, designer and printmaker, and one of the leading figures in contemporary stained-glass art. His work is characterised by a constant exploration of light, colour, texture and compositional structure. Despite his extensive work across different disciplines, he always considered himself, above all, a painter.
Joan Vila Grau developed a broad artistic career encompassing painting, printmaking, graphic design, textile design, ceramic murals and, most notably, stained glass. His approach to each discipline stemmed from the same concern: exploring the expressive possibilities of material, colour, light and compositional structure.
Throughout his career, he also became a distinguished scholar of the history of stained glass and an internationally recognised figure in the field.
One of the major projects of his career was the design of the stained-glass windows of the Sagrada Família in Barcelona, a project to which he devoted approximately eighteen years, from the late 1990s until 2015.
For Vila Grau, the windows had to create a true symphony of colour, in permanent dialogue with the architecture of Antoni Gaudí. He studied the movement of the sun throughout the day and the incidence of light within the different areas of the basilica in order to determine the colour ranges and relationships between the individual windows.
Lead lines also played a fundamental role in his work. They were not merely a constructional element, but gave structure, rhythm and direction to the compositions.
Joan Vila Grau’s career extended far beyond stained glass. In 1961 he was one of the founders of La Cantonada, a pioneering group in integrated design working across painting, graphic design, architecture, ceramics, jewellery and interior design.
He also promoted and designed the journal Qüestions d’Art and later directed Galeria AS, initiatives that contributed to the renewal and dissemination of contemporary artistic culture in Catalonia.
At Oniricat we present a selection of works and reproductions by Joan Vila Grau, connected to his artistic career, his experimentation with light and colour and, in some cases, the creative process behind the stained-glass windows of the Sagrada Família.
The career of Joan Vila Grau (Barcelona, 1932–2022) was marked by a constant exploration of the expressive possibilities of colour, material, light and structure. A painter by vocation and a multidisciplinary artist, he also worked in printmaking, graphic and textile design, ceramic murals and, most notably, stained glass.
These different disciplines were not separate paths. Throughout his work we find the same interest in compositional order, texture, colour relationships and the way in which the viewer experiences an artwork.
Joan Vila Grau explored techniques and processes that could expand the visual possibilities of his work. One particularly distinctive example is diapography, a technique between photography and painting that involves directly altering the emulsion of a slide or photographic frame by scratching, scraping and other forms of manipulation.
The artist experimented with this technique and selected two of the results he considered most successful to be reproduced on paper. The parallel with stained glass is particularly significant: in both cases, light plays a fundamental role in the perception of forms, textures and colours.
The reproductions available at Oniricat are based on these diapographic images and were printed using screen printing on BFK Rives paper, in a limited number of copies originating from the artist’s studio.
Research into stained glass formed an essential part of Joan Vila Grau’s career. Alongside his creative work, he studied the history of the discipline in depth and gained international recognition as a researcher and specialist.
One of the defining projects of his career was the design of the stained-glass windows of the Sagrada Família in Barcelona, designed by Antoni Gaudí, to which he devoted approximately eighteen years.
For Vila Grau, colour could not be separated from light or architecture. He studied the movement of the sun and its effect on the interior of the basilica in order to establish the different colour ranges of the windows. His aim was to create harmony between the compositions and a constantly changing atmosphere of light and colour.
The lead lines separating the pieces of glass were also an essential part of his visual language. For Vila Grau they were not merely a technical necessity: they provided structure, rhythm and direction to the composition.
Joan Vila Grau’s activity went far beyond individual artistic creation. He played an active role in renewing the Catalan cultural landscape during the second half of the twentieth century. In 1961 he was one of the founders of La Cantonada, a pioneering group that integrated disciplines including painting, graphic design, architecture, ceramics, jewellery and interior design.
He was also the promoter and designer of the journal Qüestions d’Art and director of Galeria AS, initiatives that helped bring contemporary art, critical thought and visual culture closer to Catalan society.
At Oniricat, we select works and reproductions by Joan Vila Grau that reveal different aspects of his creative universe: graphic experimentation, research into light and colour and, where applicable, studies connected to the creation of the stained-glass windows of the Sagrada Família.
Each piece is presented with information about its authorship, technique, materials, dimensions, provenance and artistic context, with the aim of preserving and communicating the value of the work beyond its purely decorative dimension.
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