Irene Pijoan (1953 – 2004) was a Swiss-born American painter, sculptor, and educator.[1] She was active in the San Francisco Bay Area and taught at the San Francisco Art Institute for more than 20 years.[2][3]
Irene Pijoan | |
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Born | Lausanne, Switzerland | November 11, 1953
Died | August 18, 2004 Berkeley, California, U.S. | (aged 50)
Other names | Irène Pijoan |
Occupation(s) | Painter, sculptor, educator |
Years active | 1976–2004 |
Spouse | Craig Nagasawa |
Children | 1 |
Parents |
|
Irene Pijoan was born on November 11, 1953, in Lausanne, Switzerland to parents Geneviève Bugnion and Joseph Pijoan . Her mother was Swiss, her father was a Spanish architect, art historian, philosopher, and poet in the Catalan language.[4][1]
Pijoan received her bachelor of arts degree in 1978, followed by her fine arts master's of fine art degree in 1980 from University of California, Davis.[5][3] She also took classes at California State University, Sacramento.[6] In 1979, Pijoan was awarded a scholarship to the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture.[5][7] In 1981–1982, she was awarded the Roswell Artist-in-Residence.[5]
One of her early solo exhibitions was in 1977 at Off-Brand Gallery (formerly Acme) in the former North Sacramento City Hall.[6] Starting in 1983, she began teaching at San Francisco Art Institute (SFAI) where she remained until her death in 2004.[3] She was a teacher of artist Jason Rhoades.[8]
Her art work was created in a wide range of styles and materials.[9] In the beginning of her career she was working with abstract Funk art sculptures,[6] followed by with figurative and portrait pieces in multidimensional encaustic, and over time her work became more abstracted.[3] Pijoan was known for her cut paper and cut metal art.
She created public art in the form of large scale aluminum cut-out screens on display at Highland Hospital in Oakland; Santa Clara Public Library; Victoria Manalo Draves Park in SOMA, San Francisco; and at the Harborview Medical Building in Seattle.[3][10]
Starting in 1999, Pijoan battled breast cancer.[3] She died on August 18, 2004, in Berkeley, California.[3] Pijoan was married to artist Craig Nagasawa, and together they had one daughter.[3]
Her work is in museum collections including at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMoMA),[11] and San José Museum of Art.[12]