CaixaForum tracks the private collections of renowned artists

CaixaForum Barcelona has delved into the private collections of a dozen renowned artists to offer visitors a "confrontation" between their creations and the works that interest them and have influenced them. The result, "revealing", is in the exhibition Gods, magicians and sages. The private collections of the artists that can be visited from November 24 to April 2, 2023. Works by Miró, Tàpies, Millares or Rosa Amorós shine alongside personal treasures, from oriental calligraphy, Guanxe ceramics and African works of art up to a Basquiat, the latter from Miquel Barceló's studio in Paris. "It's clear that artists don't come out of nowhere and that they are made up of all the sediments of history and their present," explained the exhibition's co-curator, Maite Borràs.

With this exhibition CaixaFourm shows off works from the Contemporary Art Collection of the 'la Caixa' Foundation with a different approach. The two curators of the exhibition, Maite Borràs and Àngels de la Mota agree to say that they have done a certain "archaeology", to which the title 'Gods, mages and sages' refers, a free version of the book by the archaeological publicist CW Ceram .

Together they have accessed the private collections of the artists present in the exhibition. In the case of artists who are alive, the visit gave rise to the "privilege" of being able to study them together and with their guidance. "Always free to do our own reading, because it is not an exhibition about his collections, but a confrontation of this with his work."

Borràs says that this is so because the most interesting thing is precisely the "revealing capacity" that these collections have regarding the creators' own artistic personality. The comparison between the different collections and the relationship between the work and the collection of each artist also invites to identify different ways of collecting.

The exhibition focuses on the works and collections of Rosa Amorós, Miquel Barceló, Georg Baselitz, Luis Feito, Joan Hernández Pijuan, Mnaolo Millares, Joan Miró, Susana Solano, Hiroshi Sugimoto and Antoni Tàpies, all of whom are present in the Col ·contemporary art collection 'la Caixa' Foundation.