The exhibit features 120 works, including paintings, prints, and drawings, and runs through August 12.
Located in the gallery's ample, starkly modern East Wing, "Joan Miro: The Ladder of Escape" is an expertly mounted show which is billed as organized by London's Tate Modern Gallery, in collaboration with Barcelona's Fundacio National de Joan Miro, and in association with DC's National Gallery. Clearly in good hands, the exhibit features concise, informative wall text, with well spaced, organized works in sufficiently well-lighted galleries to render the viewing experience and inobtrusive, immersive experience.
In addition to the artist's works is a video biography shown in a cozy auditorium in the midst of the upper level of the exhibit. The overall experience of the Joan Miro Show is one of rediscovering a gentle master one thought one was familiar with. Unlike his brasher countryman Pablo Picasso, Miro has a subtle, thoughtful touch that doesn't so much grab you by the throat as seduce you with its wit, warmth, and imagination. In that sense, Miro is surely Spain's most accomplished surrealist painter.
A rare treat of the exhibit is the opportunity to experience the artist's trajectory, including his more overtly political work during the grueling Spanish Civil War, and later his experiments with setting his canvases on fire and then walking on them. The arc of his career is both fascinating and enlightening, as it reveals a truly restless artistic spirit whose work only incidentally was fashionable due to the inevitability that much great art, by its very nature, is impossible to ignore.
Not only is the National Gallery one of many free museums in the nation's capital, but there is a seasonal Garden Cafe Catalonia menu on offer and the museum's massive gift shop. Did I mention I found a book on Miro on sale?
No comments:
Post a Comment