Carmen Pinart
Barcelona 1957

Carmen Pinart studied at the Sant Jordi School of Fine Arts and was awarded a scholarship by the Spanish Academy of Fine Arts in Rome in 1984 which enabled her to continue her studies at the Calcografia Nazionale in the Italian capital. After spending time in Stockholm and Cambridge (Massachusetts, United States), Pinart returned to Madrid, where she currently works.

Her work is characterised by the use of oil and gold leaf applied on wooden surfaces, often in the form of very thick supports that the artist calls ‘wood billets’. She produces figurative images, often in small formats, which seek to study the history of painting through their extraordinary approach to the still-life and portrait genres, but which also touch on other areas such as oriental art. Thus, her works with magnolia, branches and leaves reflect a careful taxonomy of botanical drawing in which her interest in the calligraphy characteristic of Japanese traditional art is also evident. She uses a highly codified vocabulary that contrasts with the references of Western history in its still-lifes of pomegranates, grapes and tubers.

She also frequently paints portraits of people close to her, along with self-portraits. The settings, compositions and treatment of the images mean there are ample references to the technical procedures of classical artists in the many critical readings of her work: from Quattrocento painters — Andrea Mantegna, Piero della Francesca, Paolo Uccello and Sandro Boticelli — to Post-Impressionists such as Paul Cézanne. She handles this genealogy skilfully in her works.

Solo shows of Carmen Pinart’s work have been held at the Spanish Embassy in Tokyo (2016); at Moneo-Brock (Madrid, 2016) and at the Luis Gurriarán Gallery (Madrid, 2015), among other venues. She has also taken part in group exhibitions at the former Spanish Contemporary Art Centre of Madrid (as part of her grant at the Spanish Academy in Rome) (2001); the Kojimachi Collection (Tokyo, 2017); and the Montcada Gallery (Barcelona, 2010).

Beatriz Herráez