“My life has always been subject to travel,” says the artist Jose Luis Aragon (Chiclana de la Frontera, 1941), who this Tuesday was received as a corresponding academic in the Cadiz town of Conil in the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary during a session held at the House of the Pinelo headed by its president, Juan Miguel González Gómez.
Perhaps because of this constant, vital and creative itinerary that Aragón has lived, who has resided in different periods of his life in Barcelona y Paristhis artist titled his reception speech ‘A journey through ceramics’to which he has dedicated his efforts since arriving in Barcelona to study at the Massana school in the mid-60s.
There he would begin to work with ceramics under the guidance of one of his most renowned teachers, Josep Llorens and Artigas. «I arrived there at a very important time in Spain for art to learn about Catalan culture, art and the work of Gaudí. I met Artigas, Francesc Català Roca, Joan Miró (with whom he collaborates for a series of dishes), Antoni Tàpies… Luckily, my career was amazing.”
In Barcelona he exhibits in various fields and applies for a scholarship to continue his studies at the Parisian school. ‘Craft of Art’, “where it was very difficult to access, but with the curriculum I brought from Barcelona they admitted me.” In that center, where the future engineers of the famous factories of Sèvres and Limôgesyou will deepen your knowledge in industrial, artistic and artisanal ceramics, reinforcing what you already had in porcelain and stoneware.
In the French capital he would begin his research on the colors of the eastern dynasties from China and Japan, such as bull’s blood and celadons, in addition to dedicating himself to teaching. At that time he would travel a lot, both for his research into colors such as iron red, “a mythical color” and for his desire to spread the art of ceramics to the general public. For the latter, we traveled throughout France, in an initiative of the French Ministry of Culture and a private company, “to bring together teachers from universities and institutes and we held debates on ceramics, which also led me to television. All of this greatly enriched my work.”
Inauguration as academic of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary Maya Balanya
In the 80s he returned to his homeland and settled in the countryside, in the coastal municipality of Conil, although he was contemplating living in Seville. “I’m in love with SevilleAs cities, for me they are Seville and Paris. But in the end I went to the countryside and set up the workshop there, but I also really like agriculture.”
The riding is another of his passions, which led him not only to “paint and model pieces with equestrian themes”, but also to found the Conil Horse Associationsomething that “was not easy in 1983, although we already have three hundred members.” This promotion of the associative fabric also led Aragón to create one of neighbors of the Conil countrysidewith the aim of “electrifying areas, ensuring that mail arrives, that there are doctors… art must also serve to improve the lives of citizens.”
Exhibition at the academy
The Academy of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary now welcomes this ceramist, an institution that does not hesitate to describe as a “temple of culture and art.” It is something very important, not only to enter but, above all, to share points of view with the academics about art«.
An art that must reach people. “The ceramist should not stay only in pottery, but create contemporary works inspired by nature, as before a Plaza de España was created, which is wonderful.” In his opinion, art is something everyday in the Andalusian capital, where there is a rich tradition of ceramics in Triana. «I give it a lot of value. In Seville art is everywhereon the bars, on the windows… the artists who made those spaces were creating something.”
After reading the reception speech, José Luis Aragón was awarded the academic title and the corporate medal was awarded to him. Furthermore, this royal academy has inaugurated a ceramics exhibition of this artist.
