The Fundació Joan Miró ( ; English: Joan Miró Foundation, Centre of Studies of Contemporary Art) is a modern art museum honoring the life and work of the Spanish artist Joan Miró, located on the hill called Montjuïc in Barcelona, Catalonia (Spain).
History The idea for the foundation was made in 1968 by Joan Miró. Miró formed the foundation with his friend Joan Prats. Miró wanted to create a new building that would encourage particularly younger artists to experiment with contemporary art. The building was designed by Josep Lluís Sert to ensure that this work could also be made available to the public and exhibited. He designed the building with courtyards and terraces and to create a natural path for visitors to move through the building.
Building began on the mountain of Montjuïc and the foundation opened on 10 June 1975. Not only was the architect a close friend of Miró but so was the first president Joaquim Gomis and Miró was amongst the first board. It was claimed that the new foundation represented a new way of viewing the concept of a museum and how the people of Barcelona could relate to their cultural heritage.Sert. P.8
Expansion in 1986 to the building added an auditorium and a library which holds some of the 10,000 items in the Foundation and Miró's collection.
Works by Joan Miró Many of the works in the building were donated by the artist himself.Fundació Joan Miró, Barcelona.de, accessed September 2011 Highlights include: The wing of the lark ..., 1967 Hermitage of San Juan Huerta, 1917 Street Pedralbes, 1917 Portrait of a boy, 1919 Painting (the white gloves), 1925 Flame in space and Naked woman, 1932 Character, 1934 Man and Woman in Front of a Pile of Excrement, 1935 Naked Woman Climbing a Staircase, 1937 No, 1937 The Morning Star, 1940 Barcelona Series, 1944 The Diamond smiles at twilight, 1947–1948 The Caress of a Bird, 1967 The gold of the azure, 1967 Painting on white to a solitary cell I, II, III, 1968 Figure in front of the sun, 1968 Catalan peasant by moonlight, 1968 Miró's Chicago, 1968 Character, 1970, May 1968, 1968–1973 Tapestry of the Fundació, 1979
Collection In line with Miró's original idea the Foundation has a space named "" which is dedicated to promoting the work of young experimental artists. Many curators have been in charge of that program, including Frederic Montornes, Monica Regàs, and Ferran Barenblit, who was later Director of MACBA. Although there is also work by Peter Greenaway, Chillida, René Magritte, Rothko, Tàpies and Saura.
The collection includes Alexander Calder's 4 Wings and Mercury Fountain. The Mercury Fountain uses the liquid metal mercury to create a fountain. As mercury is poisonous, the fountain is kept behind glass to protect the visitors.
The museum uses QRpedia to allow visitors to read Wikipedia articles about objects in the collection, translated into their preferred language.
Joan Miró Prize Since 2007, the Fundació Joan Miró – initially with support from Fundació Caixa Girona, later Stavros Niarchos Foundation – have been jointly bestowing the Joan Miró Prize with a total volume of 70,000 euros to a contemporary artist every other year. Previous recipients have included:
2007: Olafur EliassonOlafur Eliasson Wins Joan Miró Prize Artforum, 30 April 2007. 2009: Pipilotti RistJoan Miró Prize Awarded to Pipilotti Rist Artforum, 31 March 2009. 2011: Mona HatoumMona Hatoum Wins 2011 Joan Miró Prize Artforum, 9 February 2011. 2013: Roni Horn 2015: Ignasi Aballí 2017: Kader AttiaKader Attia Awarded 2017 Joan Miró Prize for Post-Colonial Work Artforum, 12 October 2017. 2019: Nalini MalaniAlex Greenberger (23 May 2019), Nalini Malani Wins $77,800 Joan Miró Prize ARTnews. 2023: Tuan Andrew NguyenArtreview.com (01 June 2023), Tuan Andrew Nguyen wins €50,000 Joan Miró Prize prizeartreview.
See also List of museums in Barcelona List of single-artist museums Joan Miró: The Ladder of Escape Fundació Pilar i Joan Miró in Mallorca
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