Perico Pastor (La Seu d’Urgell, Lleida, 1953) is an internationally renowned painter, draughtsman, and illustrator whose work stands out for its profound plastic lyricism and technical mastery, integrating drawing and painting with unique expressive force. Born in La Seu d’Urgell in 1953, he received his initial artistic training in Barcelona before moving to New York in 1976, where he lived for twelve years, working as an illustrator for prestigious publications such as Harper’s Magazine, Village Voice, Vogue, and especially The New York Times. These collaborations allowed him to develop his artistic language freely and without commercial pressures.
His work is characterized by intuitive and precise brushstrokes, ink lines, and watercolors applied on lightweight paper—techniques that enhance the texture and expressive luminosity of the medium. The human body—especially female—scenes from daily life, and poetic motifs are constants in his production, where the spontaneity of feelings takes precedence over rigid aesthetic doctrines.
Pastor has exhibited extensively in internationally renowned institutions and galleries, including the Pratt Manhattan Gallery (New York), the Círculo de Bellas Artes (Madrid), the Marimura Art Museum (Tokyo), the Museu d’Art Jaume Morera (Lleida), the Commenoz Gallery (Miami), and the Galería Pilar Riberaygua (Andorra). His career spans over 65 solo exhibitions and more than 100 group exhibitions, with a presence in cities such as Paris, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Miami, Granada, Barcelona, and Madrid, among others.
Among his most emblematic projects is the complete illustration of the Bible, commissioned by Enciclopèdia Catalana in 2007, which culminated in a traveling exhibition titled La Bíblia il·luminada with over 350 original works, as well as the retrospective Els pericos de Perico, composed of a careful selection of works illustrating his artistic evolution.
Since 1989, he has resided in Barcelona, where he combines his painting work with illustration for media such as El País, La Vanguardia, El Periódico de Catalunya, and the International Herald Tribune, in addition to teaching and participating in educational and cultural activities.
His career has been recognized with distinctions such as the Medalla Morera awarded by the Lleida City Council (1993) and the Special Prize of the Spanish Olympic Committee at the Biennial of Sport in Fine Arts (1997).
Perico Pastor is a key figure in contemporary Catalan and Spanish painting, whose work continues to explore the expressive richness of gesture, color, and visual narrative as tools to accompany and dialogue with the viewer.
