Miguel Ibarz: The Simplicity of the Avant-Garde
Explore the life and evolution of the Mequinenza-born painter, who is renowned for fusing Mediterranean tradition with avant-garde techniques through his use of colour and light
Mequinenza (1947) by Miguel IbarzMuseos de Mequinenza
Miguel Ibarz Roca, born on November 30, 1920, in Mequinenza, moved to Barcelona as a child. He studied at the Escola de Mar, where he excelled in painting, but the Spanish Civil War forced him to become a telegraph operator for the Republican army. After being exiled to France, he returned and resumed his art studies.
Sketch in paper (1947) by Miguel IbarzMuseos de Mequinenza
Miguel Ibarz received one of his first major commissions in Mequinenza: two large murals for the Parish Church of Mequinenza. Commissioned by the parish priest José Cabistany for 15,000 pesetas, the canvases, nearly seven meters high and four meters wide, flanked the high altar.
The church's right mural depicted Saint Dionysius, while the left centered on Saint Agatoclia, the patron saint of Mequinenza. The male figures at the bottom symbolized agriculture, mining, and the Ebro navigators—the town's sources of wealth. The female figure evoked classical culture.
Old Church of Mequinenza (1968)Museos de Mequinenza
When the Ribarroja Reservoir was built, the Old Town of Mequinenza was flooded. The Ibarz murals were rescued before the church's demolition. In 1981, they were restored, fixed onto wooden panels, and placed in the Plenary Hall of the City Council.
Mural paintings of the Escola del Mar in Barcelona (1947)Museos de Mequinenza
Ibarz's second commission took him to Barcelona, where he created murals for the Escola del Mar, his former school.
In 1952, Miguel Ibarz arrived in Paris with a French Institute scholarship. He rediscovered Spanish painters like Zurbarán, Goya, and Sánchez Cotón, and joined the "Jeune Peinture" movement. He participated in exhibitions like "Réalité, Forme, Matière," earning acclaim from French critics.
"I am interested in the value of things for themselves, independent of any anecdotal or literary element, and I try to isolate their essentially plastic qualities from those things."
Ibarz held his first solo exhibition at the Galerías Syra in Barcelona in 1954 and received the Government of Brazil Prize at the III Hispanic-American Biennial in 1955.
Landscape (1958)Museos de Mequinenza
1956 was a prolific year for Ibarz. His works featured in the "Ciclo de Arte Vivo Contemporáneo" in Valencia, the II Salón Revista, and the IX Salón de Octubre. They also reached the Musée d'Art et Histoire in Geneva and were acquired by international galleries.
During this period, some works brought Ibarz closer again to his greatest reference throughout his artistic career: Picasso. His style rediscovered the construction of volumes through light, a trait evident in the more classic Picasso.
Mediterranean (1959)Museos de Mequinenza
In late 1956, Ibarz married Maria Gloria Serraclara in Paris, and in 1957, they traveled to Italy, coinciding with his exhibition in Rome. This journey influenced his work, which acquired Mediterranean characteristics and renewed chromatic vividness. That same year, he also exhibited in the United States.
With influences from Cubism, abstraction, and Fauvism, Ibarz's new landscapes were inspired by the Costa Brava and Ibiza. His coastal scenes, often dotted with colorful villages and houses, and his habitual cages, still lifes, and female figures remained present in his work.
LighthouseMuseos de Mequinenza
In 1959, Ibarz exhibited for the first time at the Sala Gaspar in Barcelona, which would represent him from then on. He exhibited there regularly, which allowed him to show his work in international galleries and foster collecting outside Spain.
During this stage, Ibarz's works reflected a renewed happiness, winning awards such as the Salón de Jazz (1957), Salón de Mayo (1959), and the Premi Sant Jordi (1966). In 1960, he returned to mural painting, creating works for the Caja de Ahorros de Manlleu and Radio España, in addition to new lithographs.
"Ibarz deposits the color, transforms it into a flame, into stained-glass crystal, applying it with an apparent ardent thoughtlessness."
José Hierro del Real
In the 1980s, Ibarz exhibited at the Galería Xaloc in Platja d'Aro, AB Galería d'Art in Granollers, and the Galería Sástago in Zaragoza. He participated in ARCO and the First Watercolor Biennial in Barcelona. In 1984, the Sala Gaspar continued to dedicate exhibitions to his work, covering the period from 1974 to 1984.
Portrait of Miguel Ibarz (circa 1980)Museos de Mequinenza
Miguel Ibarz died prematurely in 1987 at the age of 66, while still at the height of his artistic powers. His legacy continued through numerous exhibitions in Barcelona, Sitges, Sabadell, Vic, Calafell, Toulouse (France), and Lima (Peru) in the following years.
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