Josep Renau. Història d'un fotomuntador

ISBN:

1997, Prologue by J. F. Yvars, 380 pp.

Josep Renau (València, 1907-Berlín, 1982) is one of the most important Valencian artists from the 20th century and also one of the most controversial ones from a political point of view. Thus, he defined himself as "a communist who paints" rather than "a communist painter". He was a versatile artist and explored fields such as poster design, graphic design, Arts theory, mural art, graphic films and, above all, photomontage, in which he achieved international reputation. His works were first influenced by Modern Style and connected later to the surrealist aesthetic and the Central European avant-garde, which linked with Berlin post-Dadaist photomontage and Russian graphic Constructivism. Josep Renau was appointed General Director of Fine Arts in the first republican government during the Civil War and his posters conveyed the most popular graphic imagery of this period. In 1939 Renau was exiled to Mexico where he worked with the prestigious mural artist David Alfaro Siqueiros and became a graphic designer of excellent repute. There he finishes his masterwork: the photomontage series called The American Way of Life. In 1958 Renau moved to East Berlin, where he remained until his last days. In 1976 he visited the Valencian Country, where he was welcome by personalities such as Joan Fuster and Vicent Andrés Estellés. This biography can be considered the most complete, essential study to understand the life trajectory of Renau, an artist who gave us the present of his creativity.