This exhibition centres on the ongoing fascination of the Swiss-German artist Paul Klee (1879-1940) for the observation of nature and natural phenomena, from his earliest educational stages to his final artistic period. His curiosity for the origins of form and artistic expression led him to the dutiful study of his immediate surroundings. This background, along with his reading of books like The Metamorphosis of Plants, by J. W. Goethe, were at the heart of courses he taught at the Bauhaus, during the years the early avant-gardes were being consolidated theoretically.
His period as a teacher gave way to the elaboration of reflections in the format of pedagogical compendiums, derived as they were from his careful study of nature. Klee continued to work in these areas in what was a mature synthesis, and they became his artistic refuge amidst the challenges of his later years, where he was forced to live with a degenerative disease.
As we follow these stages in the artist's life, Paul Klee and the Secrets of Nature presents his work in Barcelona in four sections, each of which includes work of other artists who also explored aspects of natural phenomena. As female artists, however, they did not receive due attention or consideration in their day: Gabriele Münter (Germany, 1877-1962), Emma Kunz (Switzerland, 1892-1963) and Maruja Mallo (Spain, 1902-1995). Another artist who enters into dialogue with Klee is Sandra Knecht (Switzerland, 1968), who, like Klee, is originally from Bern. Working from a contemporary queer perspective, Knecht explores forms of rural and local culture, closely linked to the landscape and livestock. In her installation, Knecht will address Klee's illness at the end of his life.
Paul Klee and the Secrets of Nature is a project born of collaboration and interchange between the Fundació Joan Miró and Zentrum Paul Klee in Bern. It features the advisory role of Fabienne Eggelhöfer, head curator of the Swiss institution.
Download the Room Guide (ENG)Guide de salle téléchargeable (FR)
Catalog of the exhibition Paul Klee and the Secrets of Nature, curated by Martina Millà with the collaboration of Fabienne Eggelhöfer, head curator of Zentrum Paul Klee, Bern.
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Check the exhibition's press materials
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With A Natural Archive, Room 14 becomes an organic and generative space capable of welcoming a variety of audiences and showing the different interactions during the course of the exhibition. It is an archive of both resonances and experiences.
Find out what ecopoetry is thank to the poet and composer Flor Braier in a space for reading and writing.
Equipo Jeleton (Jesús Arpal Moya and Gelen Alcántara) presents a performative talk based on its Political History of Flowers in the Fundació Joan Miró library.
Family workshop on the exhibition Paul Klee and the Secrets of Nature, with these secrets being understood as phenomena that are here but cannot be perceived, such as ultraviolet light, infrared light or inaudible frequencies, among others.
Where does the first idea for a drawing come from?
A workshop visit during which elements of nature will be associated with the inner world.
Weekend workshop for families with girls with Rett syndrome or girls and boys with ASD.
A training day aimed at social action workers and educators, organised by the Fundació Joan Miró, Apropa Cultura and the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya.
A drawing course with the artists Marta Chirino, Gemma París and Katerin Carballares.
A screening of a selection of films by Margaret Tait, the poet and film director, within the programme ’For the Love of Arts’.
A sound walk by Lina Bautista, Paula Bruna and Laura Llaneli.
about "To wander through the sounds of the landscape. A walk in itself."
A multisensorial tour of the exhibition Paul Klee and the Secrets of Nature for people with visual impairment.
The fist in-person Lluerna session at the Fundació Joan Miró in connection with the exhibition Paul Klee and the Secrets of Nature.
An activity that will take you on a walk around the Sculpture Garden and hold an assembly-based debate on how to interact between species.
about "The Secrets of Natureculture (or How to Escape Kingdom Dysphoria)"
ESMUC
Musical performances by students from the ESMUC conservatoire in the Paul Klee and the Secrets of Nature exhibition rooms.
The Fundació Joan Miró is offering guided tours of the exhibition Paul Klee and the Secrets of Nature, which highlights the undying fascination that the Swiss-born German artist felt for the exploration of nature and natural phenomena.
about "Guided tour of the exhibition Paul Klee and the Secrets of Nature"
Observe How did Joan Miró begin? The starting point for this work is a more or less rectangular, flat piece of clay, measuring 80 x 50 cm, worked on both sides.
