75 - JOAN MIRÓ I FERRÀ (Barcelona, 1893 – Palma de Mallorca, 1983).

JOAN MIRÓ I FERRÀ (Barcelona, 1893 – Palma de Mallorca, 1983). “Lapidari Balays.” Engraving, E.A. edition. Signed and numbered by hand. Measurements: 35.5 x 49 cm (image); 56.5 x 76 cm (paper); 59 x 79 cm (frame). The freedom of the line and the ability to transform forms into symbols define this composition by Joan Miró. In “Lapidari Balays,” the black lines form a fantastical-looking figure. Surrounding it, patches of yellow, orange, and green introduce a chromatic counterpoint that balances the composition without being constrained by the boundaries of the drawing. The interplay between gesture, sign, and color links the work to Miró’s most personal artistic language, in which references to the visible world become images of poetic evocation. Joan Miró trained in Barcelona and held his first solo exhibition in 1918 at the Dalmau Galleries. In 1920, he moved to Paris and met Picasso, Raynal, Max Jacob, Tzara, and the Dadaists. There, under the influence of Surrealist poets and painters, his style began to mature; he sought to translate Surrealist poetry into visual form, drawing on memory, fantasy, and the irrational. His third exhibition in Paris, in 1928, marked his first major success: the Museum of Modern Art in New York acquired two of his works. He returned to Spain in 1941, and that same year the museum dedicated a retrospective to him, which sealed his definitive international recognition. Throughout his life, he received numerous awards, including the Grand Prizes at the Venice Biennale and from the Guggenheim Foundation, the Carnegie Prize for Painting, the Gold Medals from the Government of Catalonia and the Fine Arts Academy, and he was awarded honorary doctorates by Harvard University and the University of Barcelona. Today, his works can be viewed at the Joan Miró Foundation in Barcelona, as well as at the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, MoMA in New York, the Reina Sofía Museum in Madrid, the National Gallery in Washington, the MNAM in Paris, and the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo.