18 Apr Joan Miró
Born April 20, 1893, in Barcelona, Spain, Joan Miró Ferra was exposed to art at a young age through his father who was a watchmaker. The catalan artist, Joan Miro is internationally known for combining Abstract Art with Surrealism. At first, Miro chose to pursue business over art and took a position as a clerk, but shortly after he suffered a nervous breakdown. Abandoning business, he went back to his art studies and attended Francesc Galí’s Escola d’Art in Barcelona from 1912 to 1915. Receiving early encouragement from art dealer José Dalmau, Miró’s first show occurred at his gallery in 1918 where his work was ridiculed and defaced.
The early 1920s marked an important time in Miro’s career as he moved to Paris, mostly due to the poor reaction from his first exhibition in Barcelona. In Paris he started to develop new ideas and build new friendships with similar minded artists, which only inspired him. Miro used his final years as an artist to focus on large, impactful sculptures which came possible because of his reputation that he had created for himself in the past decades. As Miro was very much in touch with the present and the ever changing world, he continued to embrace modern society, particularly interested in the lives of the youngest generations to see what the future held. The artist continued to work and remain just as passionate in creating art until his death.