What you need to know about surrealism and the artist
Joan Miró i Ferrá was born in the city of Barcelona in 1893. He studied trade and worked in his parents’ shop until he decided he wanted to be a painter, thanks to the influence of artists such as Modest Urgell and Josep Pascó. He entered the Círculo Artístico de Sant Lluc, where he met the great European avant-garde trends of the time. But it was in Paris that he encountered the Dada movement, the origin of surrealism. His work was very influenced by this artistic movement, becoming one of its great representatives.
Always with his own language, loaded with sexuality, the artist developed his work on topics related to women and nature. Experimentation with materials and techniques, in addition to the overexposure of color and abstract forms, are part of his unique style.
In 1975 the artist opened La Fundació Joan Miró with the purpose of “giving artists a place to express themselves”. Today, there’s a great presence of Joan Miró in Barcelona, thanks to this foundation and 3 artworks he gave to the city: The El Prat airport Mural, the Pavimento Miró and La Dona i l’Ocell.
With this article we want to introduce you to the essence of Joan Miró in Barcelona that is still alive. Keep reading to know more about his artworks and the Fundació Joan Miró. And don’t miss them during your visit!
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The presence of Joan Miró in Barcelona
Ceramic Mural – Terminal 2 of Barcelona Airport
Joan Miró wanted to “welcome tourists who arrived in Barcelona by land, sea and air”. That’s why all those who arrive to Barcelona by plane will have a very artistic welcome. In the façade of terminal 2 of the Barcelona airport there is a beautiful ceramic mural. For this artwork he collaborated with Llorens i Artigas, a well-known ceramist, with whom he created this impressive 5 meters high and 9 meters long piece. Colors, shapes and ceramics are intermingled in a work of great proportions, another of the characteristics of this multidisciplinary artist.
In 2016, the city of Barcelona debated about the name of the airport, with the name “Joan Miró” being one of the finalists. At the end, the airport remained under the name of Barcelona El Prat Airport, but the mural is still there.
Pavimento Miró (Mosaic) – Las Ramblas of Barcelona
Miró thought that visitors arriving by boat, after docking at the port, would walk up Las Ramblas to visit the La Boqueria Market. That is why the artist decided to plant his work at the exit of this well-known market, in the middle of Las Ramblas. It is a huge and colorful ceramic mosaic forming masses of color with the characteristic Miró style. With this work, Miró sought to make a representation of the universe through its colors and round shapes.
The work, despite being a mosaic, is known as the “Pavimento Miró”. Joan Miró knew that the mosaic would deteriorate with the passage of time and the footprints of the tourists but decided to do it anyway. Luckily, the city council has carried out various restoration works so that the Pavimento Miró does not lose its great artistic value.
La Dona i l’Ocell (The Woman and The Bird) – Parc Joan Miró
The third work that the Joan Miró gave to Barcelona and its citizens is in the former Parc de l’Escorxador, now known as the Parc Joan Miró. Inaugurated in 1983, this work is called “Dona i Ocell”. This 22-meter-high work represents two of the most repeated “themes” in the artist’s work: the woman and animals. The colorful and huge statue represents a woman with a bird on her head, something that at first glance can be a bit difficult to appreciate.
The outside of the monument is covered with ceramics and in its central part you can see various abstract forms about the sex of women. In this artwork you can also see two distinguished tributes. The first to the Ancient Rome phallic forms, symbol of fertility and health. On the other hand, Miró makes with this work a tribute to Antoni Gaudí, one of the most important architects in the history of Barcelona.
Fundació Joan Miró
How to get to the Fundació Joan Miró? Parc de Montjuïc, s / n, 08038 Barcelona
For more information: www.fmirobcn.org
The last of Miró’s gifts to the city is his contemporary art foundation. The foundation is a place that, as he himself said, is designed so that artists from all over the world have a place to express themselves and show their works. In addition to temporary exhibitions of all kinds, currently exhibits a huge archive with some of the best works of the Catalan artist. The foundation’s collection consists of more than 10,000 works of art including drawings, tapestries, sculptures and sketches that are exhibited in both temporary and permanent exhibitions. On the other hand, there are works by Miró in Germany, Tenerife, San Francisco or Tokyo, something that gives us an idea of the international reach of this artist.
As for the ticket to the exhibition, you should know that it is affordable, depending on the exhibition you visit, prices may range between 2,5 and 12 euros. The Fundació Joan Miró is in the Montjuic Mountain, so it is an almost obligatory stop if you are going to visit this area of Barcelona. It also organizes activities, courses and workshops related to the art world.
Before visiting La Fundació Joan Miró in Barcelona, we recommend you visit the web and learn the different activities or temporary exhibitions that exist, to know what is the best thing available that day. Our advice is that you go with time to dive into the author’s work, get to know his life and enjoy the beautiful building and its surroundings. A great deal of the artistic life of the Catalan painter is in this Foundation that is, without a doubt, the best gift he could have ever made to his hometown.
