Miquel Torner de Semir (1938) - Sin título

Signed by the artist at the bottom and dated 1993

The work is presented in a very good frame

Artwork dimensions: 61 cm high x 46 cm wide

Frame dimensions: 83 cm high x 69 cm wide

The work is in very good condition

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BIOGRAPHY OF MIQUEL TORNER DE SEMIR.

Miquel Torner de Semir was born in 1938, in the last century, in the castle of Santa Pau, in La Garrotxa (Girona), making him the last living person born in this emblematic building surrounded by volcanoes (he currently lives in Sant Feliu de Guíxols). This fact has shaped his identity as a painter. A cultured man from old Catalonia, he has always been drawn to the Middle Ages, the Romanesque art of the Pyrenees, and early Gothic art. The legacy of Italian Renaissance art, especially that of Italian Quattrocento painters such as Fra Angelico and Raphael, can be felt in many of Torner de Semir’s female portraits, including the one presented here. It is precisely this blend of old and new that gives his work its originality. What seems to have shaped him most is his knowledge of Romanesque and Gothic art. His figures, often outlined with a thick dark line, evoke Gothic stained-glass windows, luminous and beautiful in and of themselves. A student of the muralist and engraver Ricard Marlet, he learned what he considers most important: the discipline of drawing. Through his teacher Marlet, he became acquainted with Catalan Modernism and Noucentisme. He studied at the Sant Jordi School of Fine Arts in Barcelona and at the San Fernando School in Madrid, where he visited the Prado Museum and immersed himself in Velázquez’s painting. He chose to reinterpret Las Meninas in his own way, in his personal style, using vivid colors such as pink and fluorescent violet, leaving no doubt as to the artist’s boldness, modernity, and charm. Moreover, on close inspection, one can see the artist’s use of collage, incorporating a piece of fabric, cardboard, or even a musical score.

In Paris, he began his work in what he calls “between the old and the new.” He began holding solo exhibitions in Terrassa in 1968, and subsequently exhibited in other Catalan cities and in Paris (at the Espace and Boutique galleries). His work began with Mediterranean figurative painting, then moved toward abstraction, before returning to a figurative style with a modern approach. Ultimately, he is considered one of the most important exponents of Mediterranean painting.

These artistic trends were not unfamiliar to him, as he had had the opportunity to meet the Dau al Set group in Barcelona. At the Dau al Set school, he encountered such renowned artists as Tharrats, Muxart, and Tàpies. His painting is characterized by the use of vivid, rich colors. His work can be summed up in one word: LIFE. Thus, the magnificent work of this Catalan painter is characterized by its rich, heavily textured and highly vibrant colors, which, combined with the diverse materials he uses as supports, result in high-quality Expressionist painting with a distinctive chromatic intensity and strong personality, establishing the artist as a master.

The classical and the new merge beneath Miquel Torner de Semir’s brush. Time dissolves and fades away. The dividing line between past and present is erased by his paintings, by the way he draws on the canvas. Miquel achieves what very few have achieved before: speaking of the past in the voice of the present. His voice: his paintings. His method: passion. His achievement: his entire body of work.

The painter from Girona is influenced by the Old Masters, Giotto, the Italian Renaissance, and the informal explorations of abstract painters. All this is the starting point for his painting; he is as concerned, if not more so, with craftsmanship than with concept. He has sought to be a bridge between past and present, while also remaining open to everything new and to constant exploration. An interesting contrast in Miquel’s work lies in the way he depicts people, places, and situations from ancient times using modern painting techniques. This distinguished Catalan painter has been able to break the rules of time. Miquel defines lines and shapes so directly that it is sometimes hard to believe the work is a two-dimensional canvas; at first glance, the painting seems more like an accumulation of textures from a three-dimensional world.

Some of his works have a pronounced Fauvist character, with an intense and expressive palette that contrasts with the serenity and vacant gaze of the faces, inviting the viewer to enter the world and thoughts of the artist. Nevertheless, Torner de Semir has a style of his own, based on simplicity of execution within a very well-structured composition. The female figures have the measured forms of religious art and express inner calm. Semir uses the figure to call for order and rhythm in human actions.

According to Joan Lluís Montañé, a Barcelona-born member of the International Association of Art Critics, the prestigious Catalan painter Torner de Semir, in his extensive body of work, “is interested in composition and color, which generate particularly elaborate creations, bearing the mark of decisiveness and a contrasting palette. He presents figures, landscapes, and compositions that constitute a clear exercise in academic painting, while not foregoing a certain formal and technical innovation, all within an unmistakable personal visual signature.”

Art critic Josep M. Cadena says of Semir: “The painter uses strong, precise lines to outline the silhouettes of the main elements in each composition, and uses basic, pure colors to express feelings. Whenever possible, he creates a painting within a painting, and even seeks to introduce interpretations and abstract symbols into his backgrounds. In this way, he achieves a positive relationship between the various forms of artistic expression that inspire him, and his visual language becomes much richer and more compelling. He has a style of his own, based on simplicity of execution within a very well-structured composition. His female figures have the measured forms of religious art and express the calm that spiritual works should embody. He uses the figure to call for order and rhythm in human actions; his painting is ethical. He easily conveys positive feelings to those familiar with his work.”

For J. Llop S.: “The drawing, the fundamental line—strong, precise, incisive—establishes form and defines spaces in the carefully considered compositions Torner de Semir presents to us. Then comes a different way of seeing, the imaginative element, and dreams that connect with the reality he describes and clothes in a chromaticism that combines basic colors with soft tones. It is a personal style that reveals another reality of the landscape and the figure. An interesting and captivating body of work that grips the viewer and leads them along the path of the imagination.”

True to his vision of the Primitives, he has not been overly concerned with his social profile in relation to his teachers, who were sometimes anonymous. Although his works are found in many countries and he has exhibited in Europe, America, and Japan, it is difficult to compile a comprehensive record of his career. He currently exhibits on a permanent basis at Galería Arcadia in Madrid.

In 2003, he was selected by the Royal Mint Museum to have one of his works issued as a postage stamp and to take part in the exhibition marking the 25th anniversary of the Spanish Constitution. Meanwhile, the Royal Mint Museum in Madrid organized an exhibition of his works.

Torner’s works have been exhibited in a large number of European and Spanish cities, including Paris, Brussels, Frankfurt, Heidelberg, Strasbourg, Saint-Paul-de-Vence, Dijon, Clermont-Ferrand, Barcelona, Girona, Valencia, Seville, Pontevedra, Oviedo, etc. Below are some of the Catalan artist’s most important exhibitions:

Most notable exhibitions
Amics de les Arts. Terrassa - Barcelona.

Pinacoteca. Sabadell - Barcelona.

Sociéte des Artiste Independants. Paris.

Grand Palais. Paris.

Dan Art, Béziers-France.

Galerie Espace. Paris - Beaubourg.

Lyions Club. Chartres Doyen - France.

Guest of honor at the Cercle Espanyol exhibition. Dreux - France.

Salon d’Automne. Clermont-Ferrand - France.

Grand Prix la Femme et l’Imaginaire Jeanne Gatineau. Paris.

Sala Gavina. Palamós - Girona.

Sala Clará, Olot-Barcelona.

Espai Cultural Francolí-Barcelona.

Galerie Boutique. Paris-France.

La Galerie de l’Hôtel Méridien. Paris.

L’Atelier. Platja d’Aro-Girona.

Ausstellungsräume der Mineralquelle Eptigen. Switzerland.

Galería Arcadia-Madrid.

Galería de Arte Star. Group exhibition. Madrid.

Galería 4 Cantons. Olot-Girona.

Galería Catalonia-Barcelona.

Galería Art 16. Olot-Girona.

Pedreguet Art Espai Contemporani. Girona.

Galería Da Vinci Art. Girona.

Galerie Ducs de Dijon. France.

Galería Campo u Campo. Belgium.

Galería B.C.S. Strasbourg-France.

Haus Arnold. Frankfurt am Main-Germany.

Haus Berlinghoff. Heidelberg-Germany.

Naumilenium. Barcelona.

Lart Century Art. Barcelona.

Real Club Náutico de Sanxenxo. Pontevedra.

Picassomio.com Madrid.

Galeries d’Art Christian Dazy. Dijon-Megève-France.

Commemorative Exhibition for the 25th Anniversary of the Spanish Constitution. Madrid.

Sala Constanti Art, Reus. Christmas Group Exhibition, 2009-Tarragona.

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