Joan Miro: Wall, Frieze, Mural

Published on the occasion of an exhibition held at Kunsthaus Zurich, October 2, 2015 — January 24, 2016; Schirn Kunsthalle, Frankfurt am Main, February 26 — June 12, 2016. The publication presents Joan Miro's (1893–1983) mural art in the context of his life's work. Miro's ideas for large-scale mural art can be traced back to his works of the 1920s and the inspiration he drew from the bare walls of his family home in Montroig (Catalonia) and those of his studio in Paris. Miro gave priority to simple and essential forms, and declared the wall to be the very essence of his imagery. With its imperfections, it became the starting point for pictures in which Miro recorded its material beauty with meticulous attention to detail and great poetry. This book, and the exhibition it accompanies, takes its cue from the Kunsthaus Zurich's mural Oiseaux qui s'envolent, which will be the subject of a long overdue evaluation. It includes texts by renowned Miro scholars on his serial working practice, his ceramic production and mural works, together with unpublished material on the origins of his famous triptychs series.