Joan Miró: Instinct & Imagination closed June 28, 2015. The exhibition included 50 paintings and sculptures that are on loan from the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia in Madrid, Spain. Below are a few fun facts we culled in celebration of the exhibition:
- He was in his seventies and eighties when he created the paintings and sculptures on view. At 82 he started painting with his finger. You can watch a video of him at work in his studio in the exhibition.
- People love the exhibition! The Denver Post says, "Joan Miró: Instinct & Imagination is an exuberant firecracker of an exhibit, full of spark and energy, and bursting with refined ideas.”
- Miró was incredibly prolific. He produced approximately 2,000 paintings, 500 sculptures, 400 ceramics, 5,000 drawings, and 1,000 lithographs.
- He was friends with Pablo Picasso; introduced via their mothers.
- Miró’s work is filled with symbols, including women, birds, and stars. He once remarked, “For me a form is never something abstract; it is always a sign of something. It is always a man, a bird, or something else.” (Read more quotes.)
- Many of the sculptures are made with items he found along the beach. (As shown in the above photo.)
- In later life, he believed he was making art for the future. He once said, “It’s the young people who interest me, and not the old dodos. If I go on working, it’s for the year 2000, and for the people of tomorrow.” (The people of tomorrow. That’s us.)