Barcelona’s Fundació Joan Miró has agreed a ten-year loan of 37 works from Japanese collector Kazumasa Katsuta. 29 went on view on 29 October within the foundation’s regular collection route. The agreement renews a relationship dating to 1993, while conservation requirements mean works on paper will rotate through the display.
Fundació Joan Miró, the Barcelona institution devoted to the artist, has signed a ten-year loan agreement for 37 works owned by Japanese collector Kazumasa Katsuta. The group includes paintings, sculpture and ceramics. 29 works went on view in its Montjuïc galleries on 29 October, integrated into the regular collection route.[1], [2]
Eight works on paper are not yet on display because that material permits shorter exhibition periods. The loans will rotate through the galleries. Six pieces had never previously been exhibited at the foundation. Among them is the 1925 Painting-poem, also known as Bonheur d’aimer ma brune, which combines calligraphy and painting. Head of collections Teresa Montaner links the group to Miró’s experiments with materials between 1950 and 1970.[1], [2]
Song on a White Background, from 1966, places black marks and coloured patches on a light ground. The Half-Open Sky Gives Us Back Hope, dated 1954, uses a black background with a broad white stroke, yellow circles, a red cross and white handprints. The display follows creative processes through themes including Open and Closed and Rhythm.[1]
Katsuta first lent works for Miró’s centenary in 1993, followed by a long-term deposit in 2001. Katsuta’s collection also lent extensively to the 2025 Tokyo retrospective. Former foundation director Rosa Maria Malet, former president Jaume Freixa and the Katsuta family worked on the renewed agreement, which followed two years of negotiations.[1], [2]
