Joan Rocamora

Dialogue of Media
1990
87 x 121 cm
Charcoal drawing on handmade paper

On the sheet of handmade paper, the stroke opts for parallel and oblique lines that provide dynamism, forming a visual fabric. The charcoal and the soft cellulose blending stick because the grays to gain tones in two directions, from shadow to dark black, with a cadence measured by the symmetry of the whole.
Particularly remarkable is the chiaroscuro that develops from the two lateral sides of the paper to the narrow, oblique white stripes. The work, analyzed from one side to the other or from top to bottom, begins and ends in the same way. It could continue beyond its limits to infinity.

The artist

(1946, Tortosa, Catalunya)

Rocamora’s work, of absolute geometric abstraction, is based on symmetry and the materiality of the media used. The title considers the work the result of a conversation between the qualities of the artist’s handmade paper, the characteristics of the charcoal he works with, and the handiwork itself. The geometry places the viewer before a topography defined by the media. The white delimits the space and makes it possible to organize the whole, while the warmth of the materials awakens a tactile desire that draws the viewer closer to the work.
The artist creates his drawings using traditional and professional techniques, considering learning as the tool that continually expands the possibilities in the world of creative contribution.
The presentation of his artistic grammar took place in 1978 at the Ateneu Barcelonès in the exhibition Els Cartrons i Rocamora, where he first proposed a geometric painting that he has not abandoned to this day.
His technique is fundamentally based on the use of cardboard, which he cuts, glues, and forms structures of different reliefs, with a predominance of torn lines and planes, within constructivist parameters. His early series (Raw Materials, 1978; Composite Systems, 1987; Conclusive Fitting, 1993) stand out in this regard.