From 2 June to 10 October 2021, the Juraj Šporer Art Pavilion in Opatija, a town with a long tradition as a climatic health resort, cultural venue and tourist destination, is opening its doors to an extraordinary exhibition of graphic works by two of the greatest representatives of 20th-century creative thinking: Pablo Picasso and Joan Miró.

More than 100 original lithographs, copper engravings, woodcuts, engravings, aquatints, pochoirs and several ceramics from private collections brought together under the title Picasso and Miró: Friendship of Freedoms tell a story about the inevitability and beauty of togetherness, connection, courage, closeness, and friendship. 

The exhibition will present graphic works from the ‘50s to the ‘80s of the 20th century, including works from Picasso’s series Eluard’s Map, Fauna and Flora D’antibes and Double Flute, along with individual works by Picasso and the genius painter Joan Miró.

The motifs that concern the artists and the sensual ambience they quietly build are inspired by admiration for Mother Spain, a fascination with old masters and primitive cultures, resentment of war-poisoned destinies, and the despair at the dictatorship of totalitarianism. Astounded with the revolutionary scientific knowledge of 20th-century physics and awakened by the genius of Freud’s insights, the friends respond with humility and dedicated creativity. They fearlessly discover new possibilities of being and inventing themselves, reaching for previously unknown levels of reality, thinking in terms that go beyond the established patterns of rational judgment, wanting only one thing – the liberation of humanity from social limitations. In a community tirelessly searching for freedom, they build a true friendship – the friendship of freedoms of the 20th century.

The exhibition project Picasso and Miró – Friendship of Freedoms has been further enhanced with a range of creative sessions and performances to complement the enjoyment of artistic observation with a sensory experience and the principle of active participation.

Creative sessions and performances during the exhibition (more information on individual dates to follow):
FRIENDSHIP LAB – CREATIVE SESSIONS – Creative workshops for younger audiences once a week during the exhibition (making collages and monotypes and the basics of graphic expression).
FREEDOM TALKS – LECTURES – lectures for students of the Academy of Fine Arts, Comparative Literature and Romance Studies and the general public once a month during the exhibition.
BODAS DE SANGRE – A NIGHT IN WORDS – An evening of Spanish poetry – a reading of Spanish and French poetry (F. G. Lorca, G. Apollinaire) related to the theme of the exhibition and also to the creative opus, origins and life paths of the presented artists.

MALA SANGRE – FLAMENCO EVENING
An evening of flamenco, dance performance – a guest performance of the Spanish four-member vocal-dance ensemble Mala Sangre, who will evoke an authentic atmosphere of the country of origin of the presented artists with their flamenco performance.

RECITAL DE GUITARRA
An evening of Spanish guitar, a solo guitar concert and a vocal performance – an acoustic guitar concert by an academic musician dedicated to the classical Spanish music characteristic of Andalusia and Catalonia, the Spanish provinces that the presented artists came from.