Irene Pijoan

Starting in 1999, Pijoan battled breast cancer. She died on August 18, 2004 in Berkeley, California. Pijoan was married to artist Craig Nagasawa, and together they had one daughter.

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. She also took classes at California State University, Sacramento. In 1979, Pijoan was awarded a scholarship to the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture. In 1981–1982, she was awarded the Roswell Artist-in-Residence.

One of her early solo exhibitions was in 1977 at Off-Brand Gallery (formerly Acme) in the former North Sacramento City Hall. Starting in 1983, she began teaching at San Francisco Art Institute (SFAI) where she remained until her death in 2004. She was a teacher of artist Jason Rhoades.

Irene Pijoan (1953 – 2004) was a Swiss-born American painter, sculptor, and educator. She was active in the San Francisco Bay Area and taught at the San Francisco Art Institute for more than 20 years.

Irene Pijoan was born on November 11, 1953 in Lausanne, Switzerland to parents Geneviève Bugnion and Joseph Pijoan [es]. Her mother was Swiss, her father was a Spanish architect, art historian, philosopher, and poet in the Catalan language.