When the poet conversed with Miró

Barcelona exhibition examines Miró's close relationship with Jacques Dupin

Commemorating the 25th anniversary of the death of the Catalan artist Joan Miró, the Joan Miró Foundation in Barcelona is presenting an exhibition that examines the artist’s close relationship and affinity with Jacques Dupin. The exhibition Miró–Dupin. Art and Poetry, running through October 18, is also a tribute to Dupin, a trustee of the Foundation since its beginnings, in recognition of his contributions as poet, biographer and art critic to our understanding of Miró’s art.

Dupin’s biography of Joan Miró (1961) is still essential reading, not only because of the extensive research on which it is based but in particular as a result of the author’s ability to convey Miró’s universe so accurately. Jacques Dupin is also the author of the catalogues raisonnés of Miró’s paintings and prints.

Miró–Dupin. Art and Poetry contains paintings and sculptures by Joan Miró owned by the Foundation and documents from his archive and private library that add to our understanding of his interest in poetry. Miró's private library was acquired by the Foundation on permanent loan from his family in late 2007, and both its contents and the archive are normally only open to specialists and academics. The show will also contain works and documents from Jacques Dupin’s private collection.

The refurbishing of the permanent exhibition area at the Foundation has meant transferring the works from there to the temporary exhibition space, which allows a new reading of them on the basis of the poetic universe shared by Miró and Dupin.

The exhibition is divided into three parts:

Joan Miró and poetry examines the artist's lifelong interest in poetry. The artist was interested in poetry from an early age, long before he crossed paths with Jacques Dupin. In Barcelona, Miró came in contact with the avant-garde poets who frequented the Galeries Dalmau and started reading Apollinaire and various French reviews such as Nord-Sud. Later on, in Paris, he met the group from the Rue Blomet and the Surrealists, who introduced him to the works of writers such as Baudelaire, Mallarmé and Jarry. This section contains a selection of paintings and drawings from the Foundation’s collection produced between 1907 and 1953, together with Catalan and French books and magazines from the artist’s private library. There are also books illustrated by Miró during this early period.

Dupin-Miró. Dialogues between a poet and a painter is the section that highlights the very close working relationship and friendship between the two men that began in 1956 when Dupin started work on his biography of Joan Miró. It contains works by the artist from 1960 to 1976 that show how Miró, the friend of poets, imbued his work with poetry, and the extracts from his poems on the walls show the universe created by Dupin, the friend of artists. Also on display are critical reviews by Jacques Dupin of Miró’s work published in catalogues and magazines, together with a selection of illustrated books produced in collaboration with Miró.

Dupin, poet and artists' biographer is the last section of the show which focuses on the poet and his love of art. It illustrates the development of Dupin’s poetry, his commitment to the world of art and his relations with other artists, through a selection of texts, art journals, manuscripts, books of poems and books illustrated by contemporary artists such as Chillida, Tàpies, Saura and Giacometti.