ᐅ Composition by Juan Puig Manera | Painting

Artwork information

Technique

Oil on canvas

Date

1960 - 1965

Dimensions

91.4 cm x 73.7 cm

Dimensions with frame94 cm x 74.9 cm

Signature

Signed lower right

State of conservation

Good

Framing

Yes

Location

Newton, Massachusetts, United States of America

Description

Juan Puig Manera
Composition, circa 1960–1965
Oil on canvas, signed lower right
Framed

Dimensions of the work (unframed): 91.4 × 73.7 cm (36 × 29 in)
Framed dimensions: 94.0 × 74.9 cm (37 × 29.5 in)

This abstract composition by Juan Puig Manera perfectly illustrates the visual language developed by the artist around light, rhythm, and spatial vibration.

Set against a deep, almost velvety black background, the artist constructs a visual architecture composed of overlapping organic and translucent forms, rendered in a subtle range of greys, off-whites, and nuanced blacks. The floating shapes appear to echo, intersect, and dissolve into one another, creating a refined play of appearances and disappearances characteristic of the geometric and kinetic sensibility of his work.

The composition conveys a remarkable sense of silent movement and depth, enhanced by the transparency of the painted layers and the delicacy of the light transitions. This research into visual perception, the vibration of forms, and the modulation of space is fully consistent with the abstract investigations carried out by the artist during his Paris period, particularly in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

Presented in a simple, light-toned slim frame, the work is elegantly highlighted without interfering with the chromatic depth of the composition.
The reverse of the canvas, visible in the photographs, shows a well-preserved period wooden stretcher, with the handwritten inscription "Manera" on the verso, providing an additional element of consistency and identification.

Provenance

American private collection, by descent.

The artist

Painter

Juan Puig Manera

Born in 1921

Spain

Bio

Juan Puig Manera (1921–2013) was a Spanish painter of Catalan origin, born in Olot, Girona, on October 18, 1921.

Trained in Barcelona, where he studied both law and fine arts, he moved to Paris in 1956, a decisive turning point in the development of his artistic language. He quickly became part of the European post-war avant-garde and developed a body of work closely associated with geometric abstraction and kinetic art.

In Paris, he exhibited with major galleries such as Craven and Denise René, two leading venues for twentieth-century abstraction, alongside renowned artists including Kandinsky, Paul Klee, Joan Miró, Victor Vasarely, and Pierre Soulages. His work is distinguished by a rigorous exploration of light, movement, and spatial vibration, which became the defining signature of his practice.

His international recognition was further established through his selection, on two occasions, in 1961 and 1967, to represent the School of Paris at the Carnegie International in Pittsburgh, one of the most prestigious artistic exhibitions of its time. In 1966, he was also awarded first prize in the painting competition organized by the Spanish Embassy in Paris.

In 1971, he returned to Catalonia, settling in Pontós, near Figueres, where he continued his artistic work. That same year, he received the Gold Medal and First Prize for Painting from the Girona Provincial Council.

Today, Juan Puig Manera is recognized as an important figure in Spanish geometric abstraction and the Catalan kinetic movement of the twentieth century.