Irene Pijoan (1953 – 2004) was a Swiss-born American painter, sculptor, and educator.[1] She was active in the San Francisco Bay Area and taught at the San Francisco Art Institute for more than 20 years.[2][3]
Irene Pijoan | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 11, 1953 Lausanne, Switzerland |
| Died | August 18, 2004 (aged 50) Berkeley, California, U.S. |
| Other names | Irène Pijoan |
| Occupation(s) | Painter, sculptor, educator |
| Years active | 1976–2004 |
| Spouse | Craig Nagasawa |
| Children | 1 |
| Parents |
|
Early life and education
editIrene Pijoan was born on November 11, 1953, in Lausanne, Switzerland to parents Geneviève Bugnion and Joseph Pijoan. Her mother was Swiss, her father was a Spanish architect, art historian, philosopher, and poet in the Catalan language.[4][1]
Pijoan received her bachelor of arts degree in 1978, followed by her fine arts master's of fine art degree in 1980 from University of California, Davis.[5][3] She also took classes at California State University, Sacramento.[6] In 1979, Pijoan was awarded a scholarship to the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture.[5][7] In 1981–1982, she was awarded the Roswell Artist-in-Residence.[5]
Career
editOne of her early solo exhibitions was in 1977 at Off-Brand Gallery (formerly Acme) in the former North Sacramento City Hall.[6] Starting in 1983, she began teaching at San Francisco Art Institute (SFAI) where she remained until her death in 2004.[3] She was a teacher of artist Jason Rhoades.[8]
Her art work was created in a wide range of styles and materials.[9] In the beginning of her career she was working with abstract Funk art sculptures,[6] followed by with figurative and portrait pieces in multidimensional encaustic, and over time her work became more abstracted.[3] Pijoan was known for her cut paper and cut metal art.
She created public art in the form of large scale aluminum cut-out screens on display at Highland Hospital in Oakland; Santa Clara Public Library; Victoria Manalo Draves Park in SOMA, San Francisco; and at the Harborview Medical Building in Seattle.[3][10]
Death and legacy
editStarting in 1999, Pijoan battled breast cancer.[3] She died on August 18, 2004, in Berkeley, California.[3] Pijoan was married to artist Craig Nagasawa, and together they had one daughter.[3]
Her work is in museum collections including at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMoMA),[11] and San José Museum of Art.[12]
Publications
edit- Irene Pijoan: Exhibition September 12-October 10, 1982, Roswell Museum & Art Center (exhibition). Roswell Museum And Art Center. 1982.
- Walker, Anne Macdonald (1984). Paravent; Extending the Range of Expression. David Bates, Deborah Oropallo, Robert Mapplethorpe, Markus Lüpertz, Roy De Forest, Salome, Irene Pijoan, Robert Dix, Elvira Bach, Ed Ruscha. San Francisco, CA: Artspace.
- Irene Pijoan (exhibition). Rena Bransten Gallery. 1990.
- Irene Pijoan: Non-space Elements (exhibition). San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art. 2001. ISBN 9780971303409.
References
edit- ^ a b Johnstone, Mark; Holzman, Leslie Aboud; Aboud, Leslie (November 2002). Epicenter: San Francisco Bay Area Art Now. Chronicle Books. p. 194. ISBN 978-0-8118-3541-1.
- ^ Whittaker, Richard (2004). "Conversations.org: Lucidity: A Conversation with Irene Pijoan". Conversations.org. Retrieved 2022-05-25.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Camps, Mark (2004-09-12). "Irène Pijoan -- influential painter, professor at S.F. Art Institute". SFGATE. Retrieved 2022-05-25.
- ^ Alzuria, Gonzalo Pasamar; Martín, Ignacio Peiró (2002-05-24). Diccionario Akal de Historiadores españoles contemporáneos (in Spanish). Ediciones AKAL. p. 495. ISBN 978-84-460-1489-8.
- ^ a b c "Irene Pijoan". The RAiR Foundation. Retrieved 2022-05-25.
- ^ a b c Johnson, Charles (December 18, 1977). "A Continuing Non-Tradition". Newspapers.com. The Sacramento Bee. p. 133. Retrieved 2022-05-26.
- ^ Skowhegan: A Ten-year Retrospective, 1975-1985, Skowhegan School of Painting & Sculpture, New York & Skowhegan, Maine. Skowhegan School of Painting & Sculpture. 1986. p. 46.
- ^ "Pijoan, Irene (American painter and sculptor, born 1953)". Union List of Artist Names, The J. Paul Getty Trust.
- ^ Porges, Maria (December 2001). "Irene Pijoan, Bedford Gallery". Artforum.com. Retrieved 2022-05-25.
- ^ "Irene Pijoan". Public Art and Architecture from Around the World. September 11, 2011. Retrieved 2022-05-25.
- ^ "Night in Cairo". SFMOMA. Retrieved 2022-05-25.
- ^ "Irene Pijoan". San José Museum of Art. Retrieved 2022-05-25.