Author Description

A compelling new look at the late works by one of art history’s most renowned and inventive modern artists This groundbreaking publication offers a reassessment of renowned modernist Joan Miró’s late-career works, created between 1963 and 1981. This body of work, almost entirely unknown in the United States, showcases Miró’s exceptional ingenuity as both a painter and sculptor. Miró: The Experience of Seeing includes color illustrations of nearly 50 paintings, drawings, and sculptures that show the breadth and contrast of this body of work—from bold, colorful canvases with expressive gestures to the most minimal calligraphic markings on white fields. His sculptures made of found objects are a revelation. Comparisons between paintings and sculptures highlight startling connections between shapes and symbols that Miró used in each medium. These mature works represent the culmination of the artist’s development of an innovative and personal visual language. Engaging texts, including a contribution by noted Spanish filmmaker Pere Portabella, explain Miró’s role as a political figure and his quest to speak about the most intangible subjects through the materiality of objects and the painted gesture. This important new examination of Miró’s later work allows for a richer, deeper understanding of this significant modern artist’s distinguished career. Published in association with the Seattle Art Museum in collaboration with the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia Exhibition Schedule: Seattle Art Museum (02/13/14–05/25/14) The Nasher Museum of Art (09/11/14–02/22/15) Denver Art Museum (03/22/15–06/28/15)