CASACUBERTA, Jordi

The Catalan painter, draftsman, engraver, and muralist Jordi Casacuberta i Codinach (Olot, Girona, 1944 – October 15, 2011) is a distinguished figure in Olot visual art of the second half of the 20th century and early 21st century; born into an environment with deep landscape and cultural roots, he began his academic training at the iconic Olot School of Fine Arts (Escola d'Arts i Oficis d'Olot), a historic institution founded in the 18th century by Joan Carles Panyó, where he completed his studies under the academic guidance and direct influence of masters and professors such as the prominent sculptor Martí Llosent and the figurative painter Lluís Carbonell, who instilled in him mastery of compositional structure, anatomy, and the discipline of analytical drawing; although he devoted himself fully to painting professionally from 1969, his style underwent a rapid metamorphosis, evolving from academic-rooted figurativism toward an informalist research language and lyrical abstraction consolidated around 1974, characterized by dense textural richness, juxtaposition of textures, gestural brushwork, and a refined, sober palette in which, nevertheless, the latent reference to the human body, the figure in tension, and the inner landscape never entirely disappeared; regarding his influences, his work synthesizes the landscape heritage of the Olot School (Joaquim Vayreda, Josep Berga i Boix) with the innovative spirit of postwar Catalan avant-gardes, particularly the Dau al Set collective, the material informalism of Antoni Tàpies, the visual poetry of Joan Brossa, and European interwar abstract expressionism; concerning the destination of his work and museum holdings, his creations form part of public heritage in institutional collections such as the Museu de la Garrotxa in Olot, the Provincial Council of Girona, and the Olot City Council art collection, as well as in major corporate and private collections across Catalonia, France, and Andorra, with his legacy undergoing steady revaluation within the historiography of contemporary Catalan art.