"Miró. The Colours of Poetry"

An exhibition at the Museum Frieder Burda from 2 July 2010 to 14 November 2010

Under the title “Miró. The Colours of Poetry“, the museum showed around 100 works by the Catalan artist who so strongly influenced art of the 20th century. The pictures cover six decades of Miró’s work. Various famous private collectors and museums from all over the world have sent their paintings to Baden-Baden, among them the Centre Pompidou in Paris, the Foundation Beyeler in Riehen, Switzerland, the Museums of fine arts in Basel and Bern, the Phillips Collection in Washington and the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza in Madrid. A large number of works owned by the Miró family itself are shown as well, this being a rare occasion. Also, the Fundació Joan Miró in Barcelona and Palma de Mallorca has lent first-class works to Baden-Baden. More than 30 international lenders are involved in this Miró exhibition.




Joan Miró: Femme espagnole
1972
oil on canvas
162,5 x 131 cm
Private Collection
© Successió Miró / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2010
Photo: Joan Ramon Bonet

The colorful paintings represent the main part of the exhibition, completed by paper works, ceramic works and sculptures. The exhibition was curated by Jean-Louis Prat, who was a close friend of Miró’s and organized exhibitions for him during his lifetime.




Joan Miró: Goutte d'eau sur la neige rose
1968
oil on canvas
195,5 x 130,5 cm
Private Collection
© Successió Miró / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2010
Photo: Joan Ramon Bon

Miró style was not abstract or figurative, he used a very poetic language in his paintings,“, Jean- Louis Prat explained. Some among Miró‘s contemporary artists, he says, banned colour from their paintings, for Miró, though, colour always retained great importance. Thus red, green, yellow and blue are dominant in his paintings to be seen at the exhibition, illuminated by natural light in the Richard Meier building. Miró admired nature, he was fascinated and inspired by everyday objects and their beauty.



Joan Miró: Silence
1968
oil on canvas
173,4 x 242,9 cm
Centre Pompidou, Paris
Musée national d’Art moderne / Centre de création industrielle
Donation 1982
© Successió Miró / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2010
Photo: bpk / CNAC-MNAM / Jean-François Tomasian

Freedom, sense of humor, ease, but also violations of esthetic rules are typical of the works of the painter, draftsman, ceramic artist and sculptor, born in 1893 in Barcelona. He always avoided standstill or living in the past. The exhibition includes rare smaller works from Miró’s early creative years. They help understand his development as an artist, evolving from figured presentation to symbolic picture subjects and ever recurring symbols. These mysterious symbols and colour stains on canvas, which resemble a music score but seem to emerge from a kind of dream world, are typical of Miró’s paintings. They reappear in his ceramic works and sculptures, contrasting his pictures.

More shows and many, many more images here.