Exhibitions
Joan Casellas returns to the Miró Foundation with his 'Sentimental Portraits of New York'
The exhibition dialogues with the exhibition 'Miró and the United States' and recovers the experimental spirit that the artist already showed at Espai 10 in 1979.
In 1979, Espai 10 of the Miró Foundation hosted artists such as Fina Miralles, Carles Pujol, Jordi Benito, Pep Duran and Colita. That season closed with Ceiling Objects, Table Objects, Floor Objects , presented from December 12, 1979 to January 6, 1980, an exhibition dedicated to Joan Hernández Casellas.
The artist from Teià conceived this exhibition while studying at the Escola Massana. He presented a series of neo-Dada pieces that dialogued with the artistic language of Joan Brossa and Marcel Duchamp. The works, arranged on bar tables with their corresponding chairs, were designed for the public to manipulate.
Xavier Domingo Photograph by Joan Casellas. © Joan Casellas.
Casellas, who would later follow the path of other Catalan creators by settling in the United States, specifically in New York, the capital of art in the late seventies and early eighties, now returns to the Miró Foundation with Sentimental Portraits of New York , an exhibition installed in the museum's lobby under the curatorship of Martina Millà that can be seen until February 15, 2026.
There, Casellas portrayed his circle of friends and the day-to-day life they shared, naturally capturing an artistic and vital scene in full effervescence. His images, full of complicity and an intimate look, document not only the people, but also a way of living and relating within the creative community of New York.
Photo Joan Casellas-Aire Archive.
This new exhibition, presented in the lobby of the Miró Foundation, will establish a subtle but significant dialogue with the large exhibition dedicated to Joan Miró's links with the United States, such as Miró and the United States , a temporary exhibition that can be visited until February 22. The coincidence between both proposals will allow us to observe, from two different generational and artistic perspectives, how cultural exchanges between Catalonia and the North American context have contributed to enriching individual trajectories and weaving international connections of great relevance.
Photo Joan Casellas-Aire Archive.
