Celebrating the 60th anniversary of the foundation of Joan Miró’s studio in Mallorca, in 1956, Mayoral presents an immersive exhibition recreating this important atelier in art history. It could be suggested that there were two crucial moments that served as turning points in Miró’s artistic career. The first was when he was young and travelled to Paris. He immersed himself in Dadaism and Surrealism and through these movements, integrated himself into the world of poets on Rue Blomet studio. Here, he experienced an intellectual awakening which can be identified in his development of poetic iconography. The second moment took place years later, on the foundation of the studio: after working in many different places, in 1956, his dream for a large studio finally became a reality.
The studio was designed by Miró’s close friend and well known Catalan architect, Josep Lluís Sert, who went on to design Miró´s Foundation in Barcelona, nineteen years later, in 1975. Working from exile in New York, Sert corresponded with Miró about the design of the workshop through a series of letters. These important documents are included in a second space of the exhibition, where visitors can learn more about the extraordinary artistic output of Miró. The new studio introduced new challenges for the artist. In the words of curator Elvira Cámara “Now that the studio in Palma was finished […] Miró, already an older man, had to get used to the new space. The period of adjustment was more mental than physical and while waiting for the studio to be finished, being a tireless worker, Miró explored other art forms such as pottery, engraving and lithography.”