The first time I saw one of Jordi Forniés’ Paintings was in the apartment of friends. It was a a solitary tree, rather sombre. It looked scored by weather and time, yet strong. It was called Secret Promise. The image, with its textured surface and the atmosphere it conveyed, remained in my mind. I am glad to see other trees here. Paintings that convey other emotions and states of being: Conscience, Peace, Silence, Golden Light.

Jordi Forniés calls his paintings “Visual Metaphors” or “Metaphor Containers”. They express ideas, images, thoughts and experience.

These are paintings as physical and mental landscapes, in which emotionally laden memories are conveyed by sensory details.

He uses colour and form in a non-representational way. Because they are so rooted in his environment, these are atmospheric, sensual works. They engage us and, if we give them time, they will evoke different levels of recognition of our own memories and responses.  And it is easy to spend time with these works. Jordi has an extraordinary ability to make images that arrest us, stop us in our tracks – his mastery of colour is an important part of their impact. And as we approach them we are captivated by the worlds that each canvas contains: the varied textures and details, the pictures within pictures. 

Here is an artist who has the confidence to experiment and take risks  with materials and techniques, a confidence that comes, no doubt, from holding a Ph D. in chemistry. But he may also be compared to the alchemists of old whose chief pursuit was the transformation of base metals into gold and the elexir of life. Is it apt that this exhibition is titled Tir na nOg (Land of eternal youth). His materials include traditional ones: hand-mixed pigments on canvas, encaustic, papyrus, gold leaf and foil, and modern compounds such as latex and plastic.

These works are so confidently and skillfully made. We must remember that Jordi Forniés, born in Huesca, comes from a rich tradition of Catalan and Spanish art: Miro (free and playful), Tapies (always pushing the boundaries in the use of materials), and more recently, Miquel Barceló (showed last year at IMMA) who celebrates so brilliantly the materiality of art, which is so strong in the Spanish tradition.

We are fortunate that Jordi Forniés has chosen to live and work here in Ireland and give us the opportunity to preview this beautiful show before it travels to three venues in Catalonia.

Rosemarie Mulcahy (HRHA)
25th July 2009