Torrevieja hosts the retrospective of watercolors by José Miguel Masiá "Magic of watercolor: imagined reality"

The mayor of Torrevieja, Eduardo Dolón, and the councilor for Education and Universities, Ricardo Recuero, will inaugurate next Tuesday, September 8, at 7:00 p.m., the pictorial exhibition “Magic of watercolor: imagined reality”, a retrospective dedicated to the work of the watercolorist José Miguel Masiá.

The exhibition, organized by the UNED (National University of Distance Education) branch in Torrevieja, will be open until October 4th in the exhibition hall of the Virgen del Carmen Cultural Center. Curated by Jesucristo Riquelme, the exhibition features 45 pieces from the painter's own collection as well as from various private collections.

The artist himself and the university's organizing committee will also participate in the opening ceremony. The Councilor for Culture, Antonio Quesada, and other members of the City Council are also expected to attend.

The exhibition offers a journey through the artistic career of José Miguel Masiá and his unique way of interpreting reality through watercolor. His works combine technique, light, color, and emotion to create images that suggest different interpretations and allow the viewer to approach a reality transformed by imagination.

TRIBUTE TO MANUEL BALAGUER “MAMEL”

The inauguration will also serve to pay tribute to the veteran artist Manuel Balaguer “Mamel”, born in Larache in 1945 and first director of the Torrevieja Municipal School of Painting, an institution he directed between 1990 and 2011.

Her work is particularly noteworthy for the quality of her watercolors, her engravings with transparencies, and her mastery of color. One of her still lifes was chosen as the cover for the charity book "Ponme más por favor. Recetas para repelar la Vega Baja" (Give Me More Please: Recipes to Repel the Vega Baja).

Also, in the premises of the Property Registry of Torrevieja number 2, there is a collection of his collages on display, focused on the documentary language of the legal and administrative field.

TRAINING AND ARTISTIC INFLUENCES OF MASIÁ

Although José Miguel Masiá considers himself a self-taught painter, the learning he acquired alongside the avant-garde Moroccan watercolorist Moustaphá Ben Lahmar, born in Tetouan in 1961 and based in the city of Essaouira, is fundamental to his career.

During his stay in Morocco, Masiá delved into the techniques of watercolor and the treatment of pigment, humidity and drying, essential elements to achieve the effects of light, movement and transparency that characterize his works.

His painting also reflects influences from the aesthetic neatness and dramatic use of light of the American artist Thomas Schaller, as well as from the Australian watercolorist of Uruguayan origin, Álvaro Castagnet.

In his early years, Masiá worked primarily from life. Later, he evolved towards the artistic transformation of photographic images, constructing compositions in which reality appears reinterpreted through imagination and emotion.

A NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL CAREER

José Miguel Masiá has participated as a special guest in numerous national and international group exhibitions. Among them are those held in Fabriano, Italy, in 2016, the city that houses the Paper and Watermark Museum; Rome, in 2017; and Liège, Belgium, in 2023.

His solo career began in Murcia in 1991. Subsequently, he exhibited in Madrid in 2013 and, during 2025, presented his work in El Puig, Valencia, and in Brioude, a town located in the French department of Haute-Loire. In addition, in 2018 he exhibited jointly with Moustapha Ben Lahmar in the Moroccan cities of Tangier and Casablanca.

The exhibition invites the public to discover the expressive possibilities of a technique that, in the words of Ben Lahmar himself, “is ideal for expressing emotions” and does not need to show everything, but can suggest, hint and leave freedom to the viewer.

“Watercolor Magic: Imagined Reality” thus proposes an approach to painting as a space for contemplation, reflection and emotion, highlighting the ability of art to foster a more sensitive, supportive and human perspective.

Those interested in obtaining more information about the artist can contact him via email at josemiguel.masia@gmail.com .