Joan Miró Foundation is located in the city of Barcelona and has some of the most representative works of this Spanish painter. It contains over 10,000 pieces including paintings, sculptures and tapestries. The collection is completed with various drawings and sketches.
The idea of creating the foundation itself was born in 1968 Joan Miró who wanted to become an element that would enable trends in contemporary art. I also wanted to guarantee that their work would be readily accessible to the public. Was officially established in 1975 and its board consisted of members elected by the Miró. At present (2006), various government also part of the board. Thanks to the generosity of artists and individuals, the foundation became an outstanding example of the painter's work.
It was inaugurated on June 10, 1975 and reached the mountain of Montjuic, in a building designed by the architect Josep Lluis Sert, a personal friend of the painter. Sert was conceived as an open space with large terraces and courtyards that allowed a correct circulation of museum visitors. The building was expanded in 1986 to accommodate the library and auditorium.
The collection of the gallery allows a journey through the artistic life of Miró, from his first sketches to large boxes that characterize the last stage of his life. The permanent exhibition is organized into nine different rooms, each devoted to a part of the art of Miro. So spaces are devoted to ceramics, tapestries, sculpture or painting.
The foundation also has a space, which is named Espai 13, dedicated especially to promote the work of young artists who experiment with art. It also conducts temporary exhibitions of works by other painters. In addition, the foundation makes traveling exhibitions to publicize the work of Catalan artist.

Building

In the late 60's of XX century, after holding a retrospective exhibition of painter Joan Miró in the Old Hospital de la Santa Creu in Barcelona, the idea of creating a foundation for the work of Joan Miró in Barcelona, conversations between himself and Mayor Joan Miró in Barcelona.
Miró commissioned the project of building the architect Josep Lluis Sert, who had already built a studio in Mallorca. Work began in 1972 and were directed by the same Josep Lluís Sert and the architect Jaume Freixa. The building of the Foundation Joan Miró was opened in 1975.
Joan Miró Foundation Centre for Contemporary Art Studies (CEAC) was the first museum of contemporary art of Barcelona and was a breaking point and leading both from the standpoint of architectural and functional, which still stands today as custodian of the legacy of works donated by Miró in Barcelona and a center for dissemination of contemporary art.
The building has been extended twice, in 1987 and 2001 under the direction of architect Jaume Freixa and following the original drawings of Josep Lluis Sert. Monument is considered as the totality of the building consists of the original 1975 building and two additions made between 1987 and 2001.
From the architectural point of view it should be noted the solution to the lighting and movement with the use of space Modulor central courtyard around which to organize the whole building, open structures to the landscape and the city of Barcelona, and quarter-cylinder skylights. From a formal point of view we must note the reinterpretation of the lines of medieval Catalan architecture and the courtyard, the octagonal tower and the proportions of empty and filled in the parameters of concrete.
From the standpoint of urban and landscape the building can be considered one of the most important architectural landmarks of Barcelona.
Its relevance as well as architectural and environmental components, comes mainly from the historical and social values that Joan Miró Foundation is the joint work of Joan Miró and Josep Lluis Sert, two of the Catalans more universal and more international distribution have made of the painting and contemporary Catalan architecture, and its willingness to disseminate and share them with society.

Exhibitions:

In 1984, celebrating the exhibition "Tintin in Barcelona", against which various personalities of the Spanish comic like Jordi Bernet, Jesus Blasco, Javier Coma, Juan Cueto, Gubern Román, Victor Mora, Ricardo Munoz, Enric Sio, Suay, Maruja Torres Josep Toutain and published the "Manifesto against Tintin and Hergé exhibition" in the newspaper El Pais, and by extension against the clear line.