‘Irreflexió. Gest i color’

Galeria Jordi Pascual

One of the defining characteristics of avant-garde art is the profound shift in the way painting came to be understood. After the Second World War, abstract art emerged as the leading field of artistic experimentation, marking a radical break with traditional modes of representing reality. Painting was no longer confined to depicting an image; instead, it became a space in which the very process of creation was made visible. From the second half of the twentieth century onwards, many artists began to explore the possibilities of painting itself, paying particular attention to its materiality and the physical act of making. Incision, swift brushstrokes, stains, and marks became recurring devices, reflecting a new approach to painting. These diverse methods of working gave rise to a shared, though far from uniform, visual language among a wide range of artists.

In the exhibition ‘Instinct, Gesture and Color’, we present a selection of paintings by Jean Dubuffet, José Guerrero, Hans Hartung, Joan Miró, Jean-Paul Riopelle, Sam Francis, and Esteban Vicente, tracing a network of relationships between these artists. For this occasion, our proposal focuses on the diversity of gesture and technique, highlighting the different approaches and methods that define each artist’s practice. Rather than presenting a single way of understanding painting, the exhibition reveals how the medium is continuously transformed and redefined through the work of each artist. The exhibition proposes a reading of the canvas as an open field, where each work takes shape through action itself. The surface records movements, decisions, and even the unexpected events encountered by the artist during the creative process. In every painting, gesture appears both as a physical trace and as a visual structure.

Through the interplay of color, the movement of the brush, and an intuitive, spontaneous approach to making, diverse forms of abstraction emerge. These works resonate with movements such as European Informalism, American Abstract Expressionism, and other related artistic currents, together reflecting a remarkably rich and varied moment in the history of modern painting. In some cases, the artists featured in the exhibition moved within the same cities and artistic circles; in others, they never met. Yet they shared a common attitude toward painting, characterised by a profound sense of freedom in the use of color and in the construction of the image itself.

This exhibition embraces diversity as an essential framework for understanding some of the most significant transformations in twentieth-century painting.

Additional information:

Dates: 15 September – 30 November 2026
Address: Carrer Enric Granados 47, 08008 Barcelona
Opening hours: Monday to Friday, 10.30 am–7.30 pm, and Saturday, 11 am–7 pm
Telephone: (+34) 93 272 02 09
Email: galeria@galeriajordipascual.com
Website: galeriajordipascual.com