Exhibitions
The poetry inside a suitcase by Joan Brossa
The visual and transformative universe of Joan Brossa arrives in Vilafranca in a traveling exhibition starting at the Pinnae Foundation with curatorship by Ricard Planas.
From May 27 to June 21, 2026, the Pinnae Foundation in Vilafranca del Penedès hosts Brossa portátil. The suitcase museum , an exhibition dedicated to the visual and poetic universe of Joan Brossa, one of the most unique and influential figures in Catalan contemporary creation. The exhibition, curated by art critic and bonart editor Ricard Planas Camps, proposes a compact but expansive journey through Brossa's imagination, turning a suitcase into a metaphor for a traveling museum.
Brossa transformed everyday objects, words and signs into pieces full of irony, magic and social criticism. His work - which encompasses visual poetry, the object poem, theatre and stage poetry - continues to amaze with its ability to turn the simplest into a revealing poetic experience. This exhibition vindicates precisely this free and transformative gaze, capable of transcending formats and disciplines.
The proposal stems from the desire of the Pinnae Foundation to foster dialogue between word and image and to continue bringing the great names of Catalan contemporary art closer to the public. The exhibition adopts an itinerant format that, after its stay in Vilafranca, will continue during the period 2026-2027 with new venues in Banyoles and Barcelona thanks to the support of the Lluís Coromina Isern Foundation. Future itineraries outside Catalonia are also being prepared to take this “portable museum” beyond the Catalan territory.
The conceptual center of the exhibition is an exceptional piece: the portfolio Tot Brossa , published in 1997 in Verona by the Italian artist and publisher Sarenco. That year was particularly significant for Brossa, who represented Spain at the XLVII Venice Biennale and published several works translated into Italian. Sarenco, a key figure in the introduction of visual poetry to Italy, promoted this singular edition together with a text by the Italian critic Enrico Mascelloni, who defined Brossa as “one of the few true magicians of contemporary visual culture”.
The portfolio takes the form of a retro travel suitcase, inspired by leather goods from the early 20th century. With metal rivets and a photograph of Brossa holding a basket, the object becomes a perfect synthesis of his universe: a transportable, intimate and at the same time infinite poetic archive. The suitcase contains the condensed essence of the artist, but the exhibition expands its possibilities, opening the doors to a contemporary and lively reading of his legacy.
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