Beijing viewers can now get a closer look at some rarely seen original works by the Spanish Surrealist master Joan Miro (1893-1983).

 

A solo exhibition of Miro's works collected by Giuseppe Marino, a renowned Italian collector, is being held at the China Transfer Gallery on the third floor of Terminal 1, Beijing International Airport. On show are 75 selected paintings and lithographs by Miro, one of the best known artists of the 20th century.

 

Part of the "Year of Italy in China" cultural exchange program, the exhibition is jointly organized by the Italian Embassy, the Beijing International Airport Co and the gallery.

 

"In Beijing now, we not only have many Chinese artists' works being shown but also works by overseas artists. This Miro exhibition is a good example of such trend a major Italian collector is bringing to China part of his rich and interesting collection of the master artist," said Marco della Seta, Minister Counselor with the Italian Embassy in China.

 

"The sheer quantity and wide range of what is shown here from this artist is indeed exceptional. And I think it is worth being shown here to Beijing viewers."

 

Joan Miro is known for his playful art. "At first glance, his emblematic images often make a naive, childlike impression," said Liu Jingguo, a Chinese art collector.

 

The artist liked to draw on memory, fantasy and the irrational to create artworks that are visual analogues of surrealist poetry.

 

These dreamlike visions often possess a whimsical or humorous quality, containing images of playfully distorted animal forms, twisted organic shapes, and odd geometric constructions.

 

But his later works were highly generalized, ethereal, with organic forms and figures reduced to abstract spots, lines, and bursts of colors, said gallery curator Feng Jiao.

 

According to Feng, this is the second time such a retrospective solo of the Spanish master is being held in China. The first one was held in the mid-1990s in Beijing and Shanghai.

 

"Over the last eight years, I have paid visits to a bunch of Chinese cities. But I have found that very few exhibitions of works by European masters have been introduced to Chinese viewers and collectors," said Giuseppe Marino, a renowned collector and consultant for the gallery.

 

"With this Miro art show and more of other European masters in the coming years, we hope to give Chinese viewers more opportunities for an intimate encounter with refined European artworks."

 

An admirer of Chinese culture and collector of hundreds of Chinese-style painted snuff bottles, Marino plans to set up a "Mario Rome Art Awards" next year to help promote Chinese artists, aged 40 or younger, in the European art market.

 

An international panel of judges for the awards will be announced next March, he said.

 

The exhibition runs until January 2, 2007 in Beijing.

 

(China Daily December 11, 2006)