Joan Miró Exhibition in Padua Showcases Saved Portuguese Collection

A major exhibition of 85 works by Joan Miró opened at Palazzo Zabarella in Padua, featuring a collection with a dramatic history. The collection was assembled by a Japanese collector between 2004 and 2006 and sold to Banco Português de Negócios. After the bank's mismanagement and nationalization by the Portuguese state, the Miró works became state property. In 2014, facing economic difficulties, Portugal consigned the collection to Christie's for auction in London, but public and intellectual protests forced the government to cancel the sale. The collection was deposited at the Serralves Museum in Porto and exhibited there in 2016 and in Lisbon in 2017. Federico Bano of the Fondazione Bano brought the entire collection to Padua before its permanent installation at the Serralves Museum, scheduled for September 2018. The exhibition highlights the themes of metamorphosis and materiality, curated by Robert Lubar Messeri. It spans Miró's career from 1924 to 1981, showcasing his evolving techniques and materials, including sandpaper, jute, and celotex. Notable works include "La Fornarina" (1929) from the Imaginary Portraits series and the Sobreteixims, three-dimensional collages created with weaver Josep Royo for the 1974 Grand Palais exhibition in Paris, which also featured burnt canvases.