Temporary exhibition Miró-ADLAN: an archive of modernity

The commission involved designing and building a temporary exhibition on a very limited budget. The exhibition celebrates ADLAN (Amics de l'Art Nou—Friends of New Art), a group of artists and intellectuals who helped introduce modernity to Barcelona during the Second Spanish Republic in the 1930s. A large number of the artists personal documents (such as self-published magazines, letters, and photographs) are on display.

It was decided to repurpose all display cases and furniture that were donated by the Picasso Museum in Barcelona from a previous exhibition. These items were selected and arranged within the gallery to showcase all content proposed by the curator, while paintings by Miró are displayed on the walls.

The graphic design echoes this notion of a DIY collective, utilizing a simple material, such as grey cardboard, to evoke the feel of stationery, postcards, and magazines. The cardboard panels are mounted vertically using a simple birch wood structure, mirroring the materiality of the repurposed display cases.

It is precisely the layout of the exhibition texts, following the direction of the ceiling beams, and the parallel arrangement of the furniture that organize the space, help define distinct zones, and invites to a clockwise path around the octagonal room.