Sculpture in Ceramic by Miro and Artigas - December, 1956

Joan Miro & Joan Gardy Artigas . New York: Pierre Matisse Gallery of New York, 1956. Sculpture in Ceramic by Miro and Artigas was published in December 1956 by the Pierre Matisse Gallery of New York. The book is a catalog published for a 1956 exhibition of 25 ceramic sculptures by Miro and Artigas at the Matisse Gallery. The book, which measures approximately 7 x 8 inches, contains 24 pages plus a 4 panel central insert. The book is bound in paper covers. The cover and central insert are original lithographs specially engraved for this catalog by Joan Miró and printed in color from the original stones by Mourlot Freres. The cover lithograph wraps around both covers, and the central insert lithographs are printed on both sides of the sheets. The text is taken from Rosamond Bernier's interview with Miro and Artigas as it appeared in The Selective Eye, 1956/57 under the title "Miro the Ceramist". Black and white photos of Miro and Artigas at work as well as photos of 19 of the 25 items in the exhibition are by Sabine Weis. The book is a First Edition in "very good" to "near fine" condition.

The illustrations above show:
• The cover lithograph, wrapped around both front and rear covers
• The Title page
• A photo of Miro and Artigas at work
• A typical page of text and exhibit item
• One section of the central insert lithograph

Joan Miró i Ferrà ( 20 April 1893 – 25 December 1983) was a Spanish painter, sculptor and ceramist born in Barcelona. Professionally, he was simply known as Joan Miró. Earning international acclaim, his work has been interpreted as Surrealism but with a personal style, sometimes also veering into Fauvism and Expressionism. He was notable for his interest in the unconscious or the subconscious mind, reflected in his re-creation of the childlike. His difficult-to-classify works also had a manifestation of Catalan pride. In numerous interviews dating from the 1930s onwards, Miró expressed contempt for conventional painting methods as a way of supporting bourheois society, and declared an "assassination of painting" in favour of upsetting the visual elements of established painting. [Wikipedia]

Josep Llorens i Artigas (16 June 1892 – 11 December 1980) was a Spanish ceramic artist known for his collaboration with Joan Miró. He is credited with relaunching ceramics as a European art form. In 1953 Miró and Artigas worked at Artigas's studio in Gallifa near Barcelona. There they created "firestones" which they exhibited under their joint names including in 1956 a joint exhibition in New York. The following year the two worked on a mural for the UNESCO headquarters and for the University of Harvard' It was Artigas's role to render Miro's designs into the 585 ceramics plates. The tiles that made up the two murals for the UNESCO building were created in Gallifa and Miro supervised their installation in Paris. The murals are called "The Wall of the Sun" and "The Wall of the Moon". They were originally displayed outside but they are now contained within a building built to preserve them. Miro was to win a Guggenheim Prize for one of the murals in 1958. The two worked together until Artigas's failing health meant that his son. Joan Gardy Artigas, took over his role. [Wikipedia]