Miró and Tàpies at the Machida International Print Museum: Spanish prints and resistance after the war
A small special exhibition, "Miró and Tàpies: Vortex of Postwar Spain 1945–1980", is on at the Machida City International Print Museum. It runs from 4 September to 23 November 2026, admission is free, and it is held in the permanent exhibition galleries.
The show introduces artists who kept seeking freedom of the spirit in postwar Spain under Franco's dictatorship, when freedom of expression was restricted. Joan Miró and Antoni Tàpies are at the centre, alongside works by Antoni Clavé, Eduardo Chillida and Rafael Canogar. Around 25 works are on display.
As a print lover, what caught my eye is that the works list their techniques. Miró's "Captive Woman" (1969) is made with etching, aquatint and carborundum, and is a deposited work held by the museum. Another piece, "Nocturne" (1953), is a lithograph included in issues 57, 58 and 59 of the print magazine Derrière le Miroir, and it is part of the museum's collection. It is striking how differently the lines and surfaces look when the same artist changes technique.
Miró stated his anti-Franco position early on and stayed in Spain as an "internal exile". From his native Catalonia he built a poetic world in which stars and birds become signs. Tàpies expressed life, death and the spirit of resistance by layering rough letters and symbols over heavy textures that suggest walls or earth.
Opening hours are 10:00 to 17:00 on weekdays and to 17:30 on weekends and public holidays. The museum is closed on Mondays, but it will open on 12 October and close on the 13th. The exhibition list is published as a PDF, so I want to check it before going.
Source: Machida City International Print Museum
The show introduces artists who kept seeking freedom of the spirit in postwar Spain under Franco's dictatorship, when freedom of expression was restricted. Joan Miró and Antoni Tàpies are at the centre, alongside works by Antoni Clavé, Eduardo Chillida and Rafael Canogar. Around 25 works are on display.
As a print lover, what caught my eye is that the works list their techniques. Miró's "Captive Woman" (1969) is made with etching, aquatint and carborundum, and is a deposited work held by the museum. Another piece, "Nocturne" (1953), is a lithograph included in issues 57, 58 and 59 of the print magazine Derrière le Miroir, and it is part of the museum's collection. It is striking how differently the lines and surfaces look when the same artist changes technique.
Miró stated his anti-Franco position early on and stayed in Spain as an "internal exile". From his native Catalonia he built a poetic world in which stars and birds become signs. Tàpies expressed life, death and the spirit of resistance by layering rough letters and symbols over heavy textures that suggest walls or earth.
Opening hours are 10:00 to 17:00 on weekdays and to 17:30 on weekends and public holidays. The museum is closed on Mondays, but it will open on 12 October and close on the 13th. The exhibition list is published as a PDF, so I want to check it before going.
Source: Machida City International Print Museum
Comments 0
Leave the first comment, in any language.
Log in to comment