Manel Pujol Baladas — Our Daily Fish (1993) — Art Miami — Certified large-format work

Original work by Manel Pujol Baladas (Vic, 1947), created in 1993 and presented at Art Miami, one of the most significant international events in the artist’s career during those years.

The composition develops a highly personal still life around the central image of a fish, accompanied by objects associated with the table, including a plate, citrus fruit and a glass.

Pujol Baladas starts with recognisable objects and transforms them through a free pictorial language combining drawing, colour, material and collage. The forms are partly defined and partly absorbed into the painted surface, placing the composition in the territory between figuration and abstraction so characteristic of his work.

The fish at the centre of the composition

The fish visually dominates the painting and organises the whole. The surrounding objects make the still-life genre immediately recognisable, although the artist deliberately moves away from naturalistic representation.

The forms are simplified and distorted as lines, patches of colour and textures overlap on the canvas. The objects thus become part of the painting’s physical construction, extending beyond their role as depicted motifs.

This relationship between recognisable figuration, drawing and gestural freedom is one of the most characteristic features of Pujol Baladas’s production.

Material, drawing and gesture

The surface brings together different pictorial approaches within a single composition: linear drawing, patches of colour, areas of greater material density and elements incorporated as collage.

The execution retains a marked spontaneity without losing structure. Forms seem to appear and disappear between the different layers of paint, reinforcing the importance the artist gives both to the image and to the painting process itself.

Art Miami

The work has additional interest through its exhibition history: it was part of Art Miami, within Manel Pujol Baladas’s international presence in the United States during the 1990s.

The painting is directly connected to this episode in his career, beyond having been created around the time of the fair.

This is particularly relevant in placing the work within a period of international visibility for the artist. Its exhibition provenance also distinguishes it from other, similar works subsequently offered on the secondary market.

Certificate and valuation

The painting is accompanied by an original certificate signed by Manel Pujol Baladas, identified as MPB 0128, documenting its authorship, title and characteristics.

The certificate also records a reference value of 740,000 Mexican pesos, within the artist’s Mexican context and his relationship with the SAT, Mexico’s Servicio de Administración Tributaria.

According to information provided directly by the artist, these figures correspond to the reference prices he established for his works. They therefore provide particularly relevant information about the financial positioning of his production outside the secondary market.

The indicative equivalent is approximately €37,000, although this direct price should be distinguished from amounts achievable in a resale transaction.

Provenance and documentation

The work preserves its autograph title on the reverse and is accompanied by an original certificate issued by the artist.

Its Art Miami exhibition history is a further, particularly significant part of its record. The combination of signature, title, certificate and exhibition provenance allows the painting to be identified and contextualised with a degree of documentation uncommon among many of Pujol Baladas’s works on the secondary market.

Work details

Artist: Manel Pujol Baladas
Title: El pez nuestro de cada día
Year: 1993
Technique: Oil, mixed media and collage on canvas
Dimensions: 100 × 81 cm
Signature: Signed
Inscriptions: Autograph title on the reverse
Exhibition history: Art Miami
Certification: Original certificate signed by Manel Pujol Baladas
Certificate number: MPB 0128
Documented reference value: 740,000 MXN
Genre: Still life / contemporary figuration
Period: Production of the early 1990s

The Workshop’s Note

A particularly complete work within Manel Pujol Baladas’s production of the 1990s, both for its dimensions and for the combination of figuration, gesture, material and collage characteristic of this period. Its Art Miami exhibition history is one of its principal distinguishing features and directly connects it to the artist’s international presence in the United States.