Català Roig. De la terra al Cel

Joan Pere Català Roig holds a place of stature in ceramics, heir to a way of understanding the ceramicist’s craft in spiritual terms. This is closely bound to his philosophy of life, dignifying the simple object removed from the kiln and raising it to a new dimension within the realm of Art. Català Roig respects and underscores the ritual and creative pace of the ceramic object. This spirituality of the craft has been practically erased in the West. We are thus obliged to care for it, as if it were an endangered species.

The artist’s attitude is patent in the manner he acts with full freedom, unconcerned for trends and tendencies, with an existentialist simplification that shuns spectacularity.

His pieces speak to those fingers able to caress them, passing their mineral purity onto our touch, like poetic objects, suggestive and refined at once, of temperamental sobriety, negating any sort of deviation towards ostentation.

As the heat goes to work, the colours held in the earth are enhanced; they shine, changing, passing or darkening. The greatest ceramicists best anticipate the final appearance of their own works, foreseeing how the glazing might trickle, the curves might soften or what the final opening of the recipient might look like.

Joan Pere Català Roig is the purest manifestation of a poetic artist in an anti-poetical era. His pieces, like stars in a cosmos composed entirely of his own work, are part of this universe of patience and withdrawal their creator expresses, overwhelming us and leading us to the magic of contemplation. As an admirer of Oriental masters, he protects his independence against any kind of nostalgic intromission from those who are or were his points of reference; his work has personal traits that differentiate it from the best ceramicists, from whom he has drawn inspiration.

The ceramic arts reach a point of masterful maturity with Català Roig. The clay, shaped with total dominance, becomes a mass of incredible purity, a noble material of natural essence. Once transformed as a result of this creatively inventive effort, performed at godly heights, it is made to be contemplated with simplicity, in a state of calm, with serene criteria.

In the work of Català Roig everything works to incite serene meditation, where appearances are detached in the path to pure essence, coming closer to an enriching void, to the silence we long for. The ceramic artist appreciates personal retreat and renounces public conceit.

Ceramics are per se opposed to speed. It is an artistic manifestation that (more than others) demands that our thoughts be detained, at rest. It is an essentially pure art that does not require narration, grounded in the wisdom that comes from infinite patience.

Català Roig’s ceramic pieces are irresistibly attractive for the senses; they seduce our gaze, while an irrational, spontaneous urge further incites us to touch them. At the same time, their simplicity and harmony awaken a sense of fullness, of work that is absolute, conclusive and fully achieved. This in turn sets off that emotion of superior complacency able to elevate the spirit, as can only be seen with unequivocally artistic creations: in effect, “from earth to Heaven”.

 

This project is part of Biennal B, an initiative by Es Baluard Museu and the Consell de Mallorca, in partnership with a broad network of institutions, agents and groups, which aims to showcase the material and immaterial richness of Mallorca and the rest of the Balearic Islands. Intended as a transversal, inclusive and non-seasonal project, Biennal B fosters the setting up of meeting places between contemporary art, crafts, science and other disciplines, in order to think sustainably about the region through exhibitions, actions and other thought spaces.

 

Joan Pere Català Roig (Palma, 1973) started out in the world of ceramics in the family studio, Es Retall. In 1994 he began studying ceramics at the Escola d’Art in Palma, where he discovered the creative possibilities of ceramics above and beyond its craft side.

His career has included creating ceramics, teaching and artistic work. He has given courses and seminars on a range of techniques and was director of the Escola Municipal de Ceràmica in Marratxí from 2012 to 2020.

Highlights among his projects include reproducing over 4,000 tiles to restore the bell tower of the Carthusian monastery of Valldemossa, creating the mosaic for the fountain in the Plaça de la Reina in Palma and the restoration of the mural by Lluís Castaldo in the Parc de la Quarantena.

In 2022 he presented “Combustion Chamber” at Es Baluard Museu d’Art Contemporani de Palma, a project created over four years together with artist Albert Pinya, which set up a dialogue between ceramics and painting from a contemporary perspective.

His work is based on knowledge of the craft and a close link with his region, and establishes a dialogue between tradition and contemporaneity. He has taken part in exhibitions in Mallorca and in projects in London, Madrid and Milan. Accolades he has earned in the course of his career include the Benet Mas Award at the Fira del Fang in Marratxí, the Mallorcan Government Producte Award, the Jaume II Award and the Siurell de Plata, awarded by the newspaper Ultima Hora.