'Joan Prats', Etching, Conrad Marca-Relli (1913-2000)

Considered one of the main exponents of the New York School of Abstract Expressionism, he was involved in the first Abstract Expressionist show at the Ninth Street Show in 1951 with Franz Klein and gallerist Leo Castelli, marking the beginning of the unique America artistic movement alongside Pollock, de Kooning, Guston, Newman, Hoffman and Motherwell. Often considered the link between European and American cultures, he combines the dramatic effects of Abstract Expressionism with the sense of order that can be found in Italian Renaissance painting. He considered collage as an art form equal to painting, something that allowed Marca-Relli to continuously change and develop, first by overlapping layers of paper and canvas and from the 1960’s metal plates, without ever losing its freshness. He used collage to delineate volumes and to create large canvases in which the figure remains dominant. Marca-Relli’s collages were applauded and revered from the start and in 1954, the Museum of Modern Art, New York The Guggenheim, and The Whitney all acquired a work by the artist. In 1956, he participated in the Venice Biennale followed by Documenta II in Kassel in 1959. The first major retrospective of his work was in 1967 at The Whitney in New York. Etching, signed and numbered in pencil by the artist, on Guarro paper. Print run: 99 copies. Poligrafa publisher, Barcelona 1977