Sculpture, garden of Miro Museu

The museum, or foundation, containing many of the works of Joan Miro is in the mountain top area of Barcelona, Spain, just behind the Archaeological Museum.  It is surrounded by gardens that also hold sculptures Miro made, and worth several hours of strolling around and through wonderful art.

While his art encompasses areas of textile work, mobiles, sculpture and painting, much of his mature work is highly phantasmagorical surrealism and exhibits Miro’s rejection of conventional representational art for the effect of fanciful stylized figures.

As Miro explains;

“My characters have undergone the same process of simplification as the colors. Now that they have been simplified, they appear more human and alive than if they had been represented in all their details.”

His titles often read  like “The Red Sun“, a title that appears with respect to more than one actual painting,  often show that he is throwing at the viewer a vague outline, for the works of imagination that are only a figment of what they might mean to another individual.

From 1929-1930, Miró began to take interest in the object as such, in the form of collages. This was a practice which was to lead to his making of surrealist sculptures. His tormented monsters appeared during this decade, which gave way to the consolidation of his plastic vocabulary. He also experimented with many other artistic forms, such as engraving, lithography, water colors, pastels, and painting over copper.

(snip)

It was at the end of the 60´s when his final period was marked and which lasted until his death. During this time, he concentrated more and more on monumental and public works. He was characterized by the body language and freshness with which he carried out his canvasses, as well as the special attention he paid to material and the stamp he received from informalism. He concentrated his interest on the symbol, not giving too much importance to the representing theme, but to the way the symbol emerged as the piece of work.

The designs Miro presents are whimsical and wonderful, and appeal to many who accept their fun and pique of the mind.

Miro Foundation garden sculptures

The museum in Barcelona shows not just great works, but wonderful views of the city below.   Like many of the attractions Barcelona offers, the best approach is by the extensive escalators that scale to the top of the mountain from the streets below, without a formidable climb.

Barcelona from below Miro Foundation