Curated by Ricard Bru
Josep Llorens Artigas (1892-1980) is considered the great reference of artistic ceramics in Catalonia. His name quickly transcended borders and he gained a prominent place on the international scene. At the same time, his companion from youth Joan Miró (1893-1983) became our most universal artist over the years. Llorens Artigas’s work is limitless and unmistakable due to its character and uniqueness, as is Miró’s, a man who, establishing his roots in the land, in the country and in his time, knew how to project himself to the world through an art as colourful and dreamy as it is rebellious, combative and demanding. By now presenting these two artists and friends in dialogue, this exhibition pays a well-deserved tribute to their contribution both to art and to the artistic spirit of the 20th century.
“This exhibition, with stoneware by Josep Llorens Artigas —from one of the first bowls made in the Charenton-le-Pont workshop in 1927 to vases from the last stage of Gallifa— and drawings by Joan Miró —biomorphic forms, graphics and characters, both from the time of the «assassinat de la pintura» and the fifties and from the final period of his life—, is a good testimony of the contribution of two great Catalan creators of the twentieth century. Two non-conformist artists that admired and respected each other, and shared struggles and concerns.”
Ricard Bru
In the same way that Llorens Artigas found the essential elements of his language in the land, nature and tradition, Joan Miró, born a year later, was also a poet capable of creating his own original language, based on a symbolic writing of forms and inimitable colours that, over the years, came to exert a profound influence on 20th century art. The training and early years of Joan Miró in Barcelona show a certain parallel with those of the ceramist: against the current of the family will, both felt the artistic vocation from a very young age, which made them coincide in some spaces — for instance, the Cercle Artístic de Sant Lluc —, in teachers, such as Francesc Galí, and in artistic youth projects, among them the foundation of the Courbet Group. Nevertheless, Miró immediately set out on his own, fully personal path.
