Joan Miró, Sans titre, (n.d).,courtesy Fondation de l’Hermitage

On view at the Fondation de l’Hermitage are 80 seminal works from Joan Miró, on loan from the Foundation Pilar í Joan Miró in Palma, Majorca. The exhibition focuses on the last phase of Miró’s career, when he was able to work with the most freedom in his own workshop and laboratory in the midst of a natural environment.  What followed was a series of loose, spirited works that highlighted a poetic, highly graphic approach to his work that distilled the whimsical forms of his early pieces into a new aesthetic freedom.

Joan Miró, Sans titre, (n.d) courtesy Fondation de l’Hermitage

Miró spent the last three decades of his life (from 1956 to 1983) in this massive Majorcan workshop, created by Spanish architect Josep Lluís Sert, where he was able to work on several pieces simultaneously, utilizing the maturity and creative flexibility he had gained from his long practice. Miró expressed an affinity for Majorca, saying that “Majorca is poetry and light,” a quote that has found itself fittingly used as the title of this show.

Joan Miró, Sans titre, (1978), courtesy Fondation de l’Hermitage

The paintings encompass images representing women, birds, handprints, and landscapes, all adorned with Miró’s  vibrant primary colors and evocative forms, in addition to some large monochromatic works.  The represented objects are simplified and abstract, sometimes only vaguely reminiscent of the original inspirations. His methods vary, from defined and exacting painting, to wider and bolder brushstrokes. In other works, Miró escapes brushstrokes altogether, painting instead with his fingers onto materials ranging from wood to cardboard and sandpaper.  What results is a series of works that conflate the human and the animalistic, the figurative with the abstract, all pushing Miró’s boundless energy into his surroundings.

Joan Miró, Femme, (1967), courtesy Fondation de l’Hermitage

The exhibition is comprised of fifty oil paintings, a few clay and bronze sculptures, and works on paper, as well as several sketches used as preparations for public art projects such as mural decorations. The exhibition also displays a simulation of Miró’s workshop in Palma, Majorca, which includes some original objects that he had in his studio. Photo archives and a documentary film about Miró will also accompany the show to provide a complete biographical background.

Joan Miró, Sans titre, (n.d), courtesy Fondation de l’Hermitage

Joan Miró, Sans titre, (1968-1972), courtesy Fondation de l’Hermitage

Miró at “Son Boter” with Poême, (1966), Photo: Josep Planas courtesy Fondation de l’Hermitage

Miró: Poetry and Light will remain on view at the Fondation de l’Hermitage in Lausanne, Switzerland through October 27,

—E. Baker

Related Links:
Exhibition Page [Fondation de l’Hermitage]

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