“It is in the everyday act of drawing, of inscribing my thoughts, where the vital instants come and my hand becomes so much more than a mere instrument of my mind.” - Joseph Riera i Aragó

Born June 28, 1954 in Barcelona, Spain, he attended Barcelona University, 1972, and Sant Jordi Fine Arts School, 1973. He began his career painting landscapes in oil, while living on the isolated Cabrera Island, 1975-76. While he lived and worked in Granada, Riera i Aragó discovered his interest in astronomy, befriended several scientists at the Andalusia Institute of Astrophysics, and frequented the Sierra Nevada observatory. While visiting Paris in 1978 he experienced the art of Paul Klee and Joan Miró. Throughout the late 1970’s and 1980’s, Riera i Aragó traveled through Spain and Morocco, collecting artifacts and archetypal objects to inspire his work. These adventures led him to Japan, 1991, where he developed a great interest in the ancient temples of Kansai.