Joan Gardy Artigas

Boulogne-Billancourt (Francia), 1938

Joan Gardy Artigas (born 1938) is a Catalan ceramist, artist and (was) a close collaborator with Joan Miró.

Artigas was born on 18 June 1938 in Boulogne-Billancourt (near Paris) and his father was Josep Llorens Artigas, who worked closely with Miró and Pablo Picasso. Artigas was able to work for Miró, whilst still a teenager, because of his father’s relationship with Miró. Artigas trained at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris where he met the Swiss sculptor Alberto Giacometti. Artigas established his own studio where at Giacometti’s suggestion he concentrated on sculpture. Artigas had some success and supplied his expertise to the cubists Georges Braque and Marc Chagall.

When Artigas created the 7,200 tiles for the Miró Wall he colored the tiles based on an image which Miró had created. Using that scale model, he marked out each section on an individual 20 by 36 centimeters (7.9 in × 14.2 in) tile. The artwork includes the signatures of both artists. Artigas’ signature is dated 1979.

Artigas was later called to return to assisting Miró when his father decided to retire. His father had worked with...