BARCELONA.- In the mid-1940s, Miró continued to research into the field of sculpture. To be specific, between 1944 and 1949, the artist made the first series of bronzes at the Gimeno foundry.

Joaquim Gomis, a friend of Miró and an amateur photographer, accompanied him on one of his visits to this studio, situated on a plot in the historic centre of Barcelona, where people worked in the open air. Among the rejected material that had accumulated at the foundry, Gomis found pieces alluding to the cult of leaders during Franco's dictatorship and remnants from artistic periods before the Republic. These pieces constituted a kind of improvised assemblage, which Gomis portrayed with fine irony, as was required at that time, when there were restrictions of all kinds, notes Martina Millà, coordinator of projects at the Fundació Joan Miró.

The selection of images, on display in the lobby of the Fundació Joan Miró until 18 September 2016, are testimony to Gomis' sharp and sensitive eye; he succeeded in creating an allegory on the evolution of Catalan sculpture in the first four decades of the 20th century using pieces that had been forgotten in the most unlikely corners of the foundry: the Modernista Picasso by Pau Gargallo in contrast with the solidity of a commemorative bust; Noucentista-style pieces stored in drawers difficult to reach; dust and cobwebs covering the faces of forgotten leaders; the raw materials from which, without distinction, all this had emerged. And the gulf represented by the new approaches to sculpture such as those adopted by Joan Miró.

Joaquim Gomis i Serdañons (Barcelona, 1902-1991) was an entrepreneur, photographer, art promoter and the first president of the Fundació Joan Miró (1972-1975). For more than five decades, he produced a broad and powerful body of photographic work in keeping with the most avant-garde artistic expression of his time. He was a founder member of ADLAN (Friends of the New Art, 19321936) and of Club 49 (1949-1971), two of the groups that were most active in promoting the new art in Catalonia between 1930 and 1970.

Since 2012, the Fundació Joan Miró has set aside space for photography exhibitions in the lobby. In accordance with an agreement with the heirs of Joaquim Gomis and the Catalan Government, the Fundació is responsible for managing the photographic archive of Gomis, publicising the collection and promoting the study of his work. With these aims in mind, the work of Gomis is shown on a temporary basis and alternated with photography exhibitions featuring the work of other artists.