Pepe Piqueras: A Painter of Quiet Seas and Lasting Memory
Born in the sunlit town of La Mancha, Pétrola, a place famed for desert lagoons and the illusion of distant flamingos, this native vilero became a traveler who spent years across Spain teaching, lecturing, and exhibiting. He kept painting for years and then, choosing the sea as his home, built a life by the shore. With a family that includes children, grandchildren, and a faithful dog, his coastal existence feels like a serene, almost idyllic retreat—an existence that invites comparisons to Gerald Durrell and his peaceful island days in Corfu, a place he visits in memory and imagination.
Two of Piqueras’ works found a home in Vilamuseu, showcasing the breadth of his maritime-inspired repertoire.
In a memory that reads like a shared museum tour, the narrative recalls the first collaboration with Pepe Piqueras during a remarkable exhibition organized by the former CAM, titled Los años jovenes. The effort was substantial, yet the joy of creative work radiated throughout. The group’s energy mirrored the era’s rush toward cultural influence, with every participant adding to a broader narrative. Pepe stood out as a pivotal voice within that diverse circle, bringing a distinct balance of vibrant color and quiet restraint to his paintings.
Later, a return to collaboration occurred at a grand show where Arcadi Blasco from the University of Alicante presented Piqueras’ works. Acting as a coordinator in Mutxamel’s artistic scene, the author enlisted the sculptor and ceramicist friend to lend support. The process was straightforward with Pepe, and despite organizational hurdles and cataloging challenges, the result remained exceptional and likely influenced Arcadi’s most celebrated works shown to date.
The friendship with Pepe Piqueras evolved into a warm, literary-arts bond. After shared meals and modest suppers at times, trust deepened. A presenter proposed a project for the Canelobre issue focused on Germán Bernácer to illuminate the painter Varela’s mountain journeys in Alicante, while another thread followed correspondence with Canelobre del Diseño. Springtime in Alicante shifted the artistic climate; against photos of a red Mediterranean sunrise from Palm Grove, Paradís offered striking images of plants drifting freely in their vilero environment. A maid’s travel advice and Piqueras’s own reflections formed a tapestry in which art and travel fed each other. The paintings demonstrated how a professor of Art and Design at the UA liberated himself from strict academic tradition, yielding works that breathed with freedom and color, enriched by engravings that spoke to a broader audience.
Good morning, dear reader. The focus of this piece is not a family saga or military reminiscence, but Piqueras’s latest exhibition Color and Silence in Vila. The show, celebrated in Vilamuseu de la Vila Joiosa, reveals the long-standing bond between Pepe and his family in a city where they have resided for many years. His close friendship with artist Llorenç Pizá is part of a broader creative lineage reminiscent of classic collaboration in the arts.
Visitors will encounter two major threads in Piqueras’s semi-anthology: Imaginary Portraits, described as Conversations, and Interior Landscapes, referred to as Atmospheres of Silence. The collection spans more than fifty works in various media, always aiming to move the viewer’s emotions rather than simply please the eye. The works invite viewers to dwell in the subtle tension between light and shadow, between memory and momentary perception.
Those who note echoes of Paul Klee in Piqueras’s approach may find the observation apt, though Piqueras does not follow a single path. Art historian Pierre Courthion, renowned for studies of Rousseau and early dialogues with Matisse, notes in his writings that Piqueras rejects painting stereotypes. The result is a body of work that resists easy categorization, remaining dynamic and open to interpretation. The exhibition presents a sweeping view of a significant creative phase, placing Piqueras as a distinctive figure whose color and silence speak with a bold, thoughtful cadence. The reference to Bauhaus resonates in the artist’s fearless choices, inviting viewers to pause and reflect on the relationship between light, color, and form in his pieces.
PS: The author wonders whether this piece might inspire Pepe Piqueras to gift a remarkable engraving, a nod to the generous spirit that characterizes his colorful yet disciplined practice.