understanding this work. The show is titled Mythic Light which is entirely appropriate given her use of contrast. So with the Indian myth as the primary inspiration these paintings go on to express an epic sensibility stripped of a direct narrative.  As a result there is a timeless quality expressed; the work achieves a grandiose level of idiom which then circles back to remain true to the nature of what Myths do best.  In other words, Zinnes seems to be after capturing the essence of what myth is by creating epically driven abstract paintings that are timeless and wide open to interpretation.

Upon entering the Galeria Ramis Barquet you are immediately confronted with an atmosphere heavy with emotion as provoked by the presence and presentation of these dramatic paintings.  Rooted within them is a depth of reality that goes well beyond what depiction can achieve. That reality has to do with a combination of raw passion and the brute actuality of what painting is capable of.  The intensity is such that spending too much time with this work becomes unbearable like over staying a visit to the realm of dreams. You can take but so much before having to back off.  The presentation of this show certainly assists in this effort; some walls are unconventionally painted black and one wall is painted nearly the same

Joan Hernandez Pijuan, Galeria Ramis Barquet

Joan Hernandez Pijuan, Galeria Ramis Barquet

green as found in the painting that hangs on it (while also representing the only overt hue besides ochre among the work).

How does Joan Hernandez Pijuan manage all this?  The old adage ‘less is more’ is aptly applied as the beginning of an answer.  On the face of it the subject matter for these paintings is exceedingly reductive. The imagery is often nothing more then a restatement of the edges combined with some sort of hand-painted (or otherwise) patterning.  This might be offered in a repeating pattern of striped lines or 3 simple strings of white linear vertical diamond shapes on a black ground.  From so few elements the work is meaty and powerful and might well be termed ‘industrial strength’ abstraction. In an odd way they bring to mind the