Joan Miró Spain, 1893-1983

Spanish painter, sculptor and ceramicist Joan Miró (20 April 1893 - 25 December 1983) was a seminal figure in the 20th-century avant-garde. Miró's innovative use of line, shape and color represented a major contribution to the Surrealist movement. Born in Barcelona (Spain) in 1893, Miró first studied commerce before defying his parents wishes and enrolling in the art academy in his hometown. In 1919, Miró moved to Paris where he fell into the world of Surrealism, befriending André Breton, Max Ernst and Jean Arp, amongst others.

Miró was notable for his interest in the unconscious or the subconscious mind, reflected in his re-creation of the childlike. Much of his work 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 bourgeois society, and declared an 'assassination of painting' in favour of upsetting the visual elements of established painting.

Miró's work profoundly influenced several American painters, including Arshile Gorky and Mark Rothko.