10th - 28th April London Gallery
5th - 25th May - Bath Gallery
Adam Gallery is delighted to present an exhibition of prints by Joan Miró (1893 - 1983). Joan Miró: Graphic Works follows the huge success of Tate Modern’s major retrospective of the artist: The Ladder of Escape in 2011. The exhibition will bring together a selection of affordable prints by one of the twentieth century’s greatest artists as well as celebrating Miró as a printmaker. The prints in this exhibition will draw on the development that took place in his work as a whole, from the finely drawn, lyrical female figure of ‘Une Femme, 1932’ (1958) to the gestural, simplified forms of the later works such as ‘Bonjour Max Ernst’ (1976).
The exhibition focuses on Miró’s major breakthrough for his graphic work after being introduced to carborundum (silicon carbide engraving) in 1967 by Robert Dutrou, Miró found that by combining this new technique with other etching methods, especially aquatint (a painterly technique of engraving a resin ground on an etching plate rather than the plate itself), he could invent ‘images to rival any painting’.
Perhaps the highpoints of this exhibition are the series of prints of the title ‘Le Lézard aux plumes d’or’ and ‘Ubu aux Baléares’. ‘Le Lézard aux plumes d’or’ evokes the ‘pompous mythological metamorphosis’ of reptiles. Miró’s lizard lives surreal adventures bringing the sun back into the sky whilst avoiding the crescent moon contained within kabalistic symbols. As for ‘Ubu aux Baléares’ takes inspiration was taken from an Alfred Jarry theatre piece ‘Ubu roi’ which depicted a tyrannical and grotesque king. It was considered one of the first pieces of absurd theatre. For Miró the story echoed the Franco dictatorship and was a way to denounce the abuses of the modern dictator. Ubu was drawn as half-man, half-beast and monstrous rhinoceros. Miró worked with the art publisher Tériade on two illustrated books depicting the stories of the Ubu character.
Joan Miró was born in Barcelona in 1893 and became known as one of the most iconic of modern artists, evolving a Surrealist language of symbols that evokes a sense of freedom and energy in its fantastic imagery and direct colour. Miró died on Christmas day 1983 in Palma, Mallorca.
Joan Miró: Graphic Works is organised by Adam Gallery’s Directors, Paul and Philip Dye who are celebrating thirty years in the art business since establishing their first gallery in 1983. The Directors specialise in 20th Century and contemporary art, Miró being one their key 20th century artists. The works in this show have been carefully chosen to reflect and give insight into Miró’s lively and humorous imagination. This exhibition will give you the opportunity to own an affordable hand signed original print by one of the twentieth century’s iconic artists.