Joan Miró

JOAN MIRO (1893-1983)
Born in Barcelona, Miro studied at the Barcelona Ecole des Beaux Arts and the Academie Gali.
In 1919 he befriended Picasso and in 1924 signed the surrealist manifesto. Although he is perhaps best thought of as a surrealist, he developed a highly personal style. His work is essentially abstract but can include some figurative elements, signs and symbols. Like all surrealists, he was concerned with the creative possibilities of the unconscious, freed from the limitations of rationality and logic.  
“I begin painting and, as I paint, the picture begins to assert itself, or suggest itself, under my brush. The form becomes a sign for a woman or a bird as I work.....The first stage is free, unconscious....the second stage is carefully calculated”
Miro was a versatile artist and turned his talent to painting, printmaking, the design of theatrical sets and costumes, ceramics and murals.
He achieved international recognition and his work is included in most significant public collections. The Fondation Joan Miro which overlooks Barcelona is both a museum of Miro’s work and an artistic centre.
“I try to apply colours like the words that shape poems, like the notes that shape music”
“In a picture it should be possible to discover new things every time you see it”