Dau al Set 

Joan Ponç created ‘Dau al Set’ as part of a wider cultural movement in post-war Spain, using paint on canvas. The dreamlike imagery here, full of eyes, triangles and strange creatures, makes reference to a cultural context still reeling from years of conflict and repression under Franco's dictatorship. The work reflects the Catalan avant-garde group Dau al Set's desire to break with artistic norms of the period, creating something challenging and new. It offers symbolic forms that seem to emerge from the subconscious. To better understand this piece, we can turn to resources on the cultural history of Catalonia in the mid-20th century. Examining this work in light of these social and institutional histories illuminates art's ongoing role in challenging established powers, and creating space for change.