Joan Miró: Birth of the World at MoMA

The exhibition entrance of Joan Miró – Birth of the World is covered in a dark blue celestial paint wash reminiscent of an inky cosmos – foregrounding the idea of the creation of the earth and the vast universe surrounding it.

In Miró’s signature work, The Birth of the World, he covered the ground of the oversize canvas by applying paint in an variety of ways that recall poetic chance procedures. On top of this he added a series of pictographic signs and symbols that seem more drawn than painted, transforming the broken syntax, constellated space, and dreamlike imagery of avant-garde poetry into a radiantly imaginative and highly inventive form of painting.

Visitors walk through the transformative threshold before entering into the brightly lit galleries, where they encounter some 60 paintings, works on paper, prints, illustrated books, and objects – made primarily between 1920, the year of Miró’s first, catalytic trip to Paris, and the early 1950s, when his unique visual language became internationally renowned.

The exhibition title, designed by Eline Mul and Damien Saatdjian, is set in De Vinne (Bitstream), and hand painted in a light cloudy grey on top of the dark blue walls. The directional typography leads you through the dark entryway, while the generous size of the letters highlights the playful personality of the type characters.