Barcelona's Summer 2026 Art Guide: Matisse, Miró, and More

Barcelona, designated World Capital of Architecture for 2026, offers a rich summer art scene. At CaixaForum, 'Chez Matisse. El legado de una nueva pintura' (through Aug 16) explores Henri Matisse's influence on 20th- and 21st-century artists, including Daniel Buren, Baya, and Zoulikha Bouabdellah, with works from Centre Pompidou. The Joan Miró Foundation celebrates its 50th anniversary with a newly curated thematic permanent collection (through Dec 2027), featuring over 100 works, restored Cypress Garden, and two triptychs displayed in chapels designed by Josep Lluís Sert. At MACBA, Basel Abbas and Ruanne Abou-Rahme's immersive exhibition 'Prisoners of love. Until the sun of freedom' (through Sep 28) addresses Palestinian resilience through visual, sound, and sensory installations. CCCB presents 'The Cult of Beauty' (through Nov 8), a sprawling show of 400 works examining beauty ideals from antiquity to AI-generated images, including pieces by Esther Ferrer. The Picasso Museum hosts a dialogue with photographer Valérie Belin (through Sep 6), featuring 30 works from the 1990s onward that explore representation, form, and artificiality; Belin recently joined the photography section of the Académie des beaux-arts in Paris.