Joan Miró considered art as an intrinsic part of life, with magical attributes that had to get back. In order to reach this goal, he did not doubt in transgress academic conventions of painting and, like other artists linked in this surreal world, he looked for inspiration in the early artistic manifestations, formally simples and, however, full of sacred connotations.
Taking as references the prehistoric art, medieval masters and popular culture, Miró wanted to go beyond the mimetic representation of reality and progressively simplified the forms until he was left with only the essential. The practice gave rise to a singular sign language, which he developed since the twenties of the last century in Mont-roig del Camp, in Tarragona, and that crystalized in the beginning of the forties, in order to not get rid of it. In his work, the night, the constellations, the figure of the woman, understood as a symbolic representation of concepts such as fertility, reproduction and sexuality, or the bird that became forever expressions of a universe of creation and renewal.
“A shape is never something abstract; it is always a sign of something. It is always a man, a bird, or something else", Joan Miró interviewed by James Johnson Sweeney
The project Universo Miró takes us into the creative, unique and personal process of Joan Miró, transporting us to the mind and making of one of the most important artists of the 20th century through the exploration of the artist’s sign language through a concise and careful selection of paintings and sculptures of his last period coming from the funds of the Fundació Joan Miró. The set includes the 1978 paintings Femme dans la nuit (Woman in the night), Femme (Woman), Personnages et oiseaux avec un chien (Characters with birds with a dog) and Personnages et oiseaux un paysage nocturne (Characters and birds in a nocturnal landscape) that, in addition to developing the artist’s sign language, present another of his capital elements in his universe: the use of bright colors. In words of Dolors Rodríguez Roig, curator of the project and author of the text that accompanies the exhibition, “pure colors responded to the artist’s will to bring his works as close to people as, as well as a turn towards pop art. They also served to emphasize his language and symbolism of his representations, whatever the artistic medium he used”. The selection is completed with the sculpture Monsieur, Madame (Mr. and Ms.), from 1969, which, in the words of Rodríguez Roig, exemplifies how Miró “changed the traditional perception of sculpture with his visual and poetic games”.
Universo Miró also presents five photographs of the artist, as well as his personal library and the collection of objects that kept in his studio done by Joaquim Gomis (Barcelona, 1902-1991). Gomis, artistic promoter and great friend of Joan Miró, photographed artist’s work and creative environment throughout his career. Joaquim Gomis was the first president of the Board of Trustees of the Fundació Joan Miró where, at the wish of his heirs, his photographic archive, deposited in the National Archive of Catalonia, is managed and disseminated.
About Abertis
Abertis, an international benchmark in road infrastructures management, has a strong commitment to promoting culture. In recent years, Abertis has managed to spread culture in the territories in which it operates, by bringing the work of great Spanish artists such as Joan Miró, Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dalí, Diego Velázquez or Antonio Gaudí, closer to countries such as like France, Italy, Argentina, Brazil or Chile.
About the Fundació Miró
The Fundació Joan Miró was created by the artist himself and opened its doors to the public in 1975. It has a unique collection of Joan Miró’s works, his personal library and an archive with all his preparatory drawings, which makes the Fundació a center of reference of investigation, dissemination and promotion of artist’s production and legacy.
Since its inauguration as the first museum in Barcelona dedicated to modern and contemporary art, the Fundació Joan Miró has also hosted numerous temporary exhibitions. It has also promoted Espai 13, one of the first rooms dedicated to emerging artists and curators, and an active educational space focused on promoting creativity and a better understanding of modern and contemporary artistic practices.
About the Cultural Center of Spain in Mexico
It is part of the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) and is part of a network of culture abroad made up of 13 Cultural Centers, 6 Associated Centers and more than 100 Embassies that carry out activities around the world.
It is an innovative, open and inclusive multidisciplinary cultural promotion and cooperation platform that presents in Mexico the best of Spanish art, culture, creative industries and science. Its programming is firmly committed to human development as a fundamental process and its work is carried out collaboratively with local agents.
Selection of work images for the press
This material is for the exclusive use of this project in the media. Copyright will always correspond to the author or his legal representative. © Successió Miró 2021. Images of the work and the room available here.
12 July 2023
This summer, the public will be able to visit the wholly renewed Miró Universe touring exhibition at the Instituto Cervantes in Athens from 13 to 27July.
4 May 2023
Abertis, through its foundation and subsidiaries in the United States ofAmerica, has helped to take this project to the country in order to promoteSpanish culture and to raise awareness of this selection of works in one of the regions where it has a presence.
