Museu Europeu d'Art Modern

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The entrance area of ​​the museum in the inner courtyard (patio)
Museu Europeu d'Art Modern, Barcelona: exhibition space
Museu Europeu d'Art Modern, Barcelona: View of the inner courtyard shortly before the museum opened in 2011
The central music hall, the former Sala noble, is on the first floor of the building

The Museu Europeu d'Art Modern (MEAM, Museum of European Modern Art) in Barcelona is the first museum for contemporary, figurative art in all of Spain. The museum opened on June 8, 2011. The foundation goes back to a private initiative of the Barcelona architect José Manuel Infiesta , which he took in 2005 in the foundation "Fundació de les Arts i els Artistes" (Foundation of the arts and artists). The museum, set up in the wonderfully renovated Palau Gomis in the old town of Barcelona, ​​displays first-class collections of modern art in permanent and changing exhibitions on over 1700 square meters.

The concept

The MEAM is run by the privately financed foundation Fundació de les Arts i els Artistes . Its task is to promote the performing arts of the 20th and 21st centuries. At the same time, the MEAM aims to realize a new and contemporary language of art that does not deny the traditions and at the same time dares to leap forward into the 21st century. The special concept of this foundation is based on the fact that the exhibiting artists support the museum and in return for this support are given space for the presentation of their works. In this way, the financial resources for art, which became scarcer as a result of the economic and financial crisis of 2007 and the following years, were creatively counteracted.

Art

The museum presents modern European art from the 20th and 21st centuries in a permanent exhibition. The museum and the exhibiting artists feel explicitly committed to figurative art. The approximately 200 paintings and 40 sculptures in the permanent exhibition are divided into the following three areas: 1) Painting of the 20th and 21st centuries (with a significant proportion of works of hyperrealism ). 2) Modern sculptures. 3) Modernist sculptures. In their works, the artists address current and socially pressing problems such as war and its consequences, social inequality but also religious issues.

The building

The 18th century Palau Gomis in the Ribera district of Barcelona , with its 250-year history, seems to stand in contrast to the modern art that it houses. But the presentation of the art collections at this location gives the opposite impression. Old and modern belong closely together here and form a deep unit. “The building has a very wonderful atmosphere, […]: the art is presented in a modern way, but the building is hundreds of years old and has a venerable aura of calm and beauty.” The building is a three-story property with a beautiful Inner courtyard with representative staircase.

In 1791 the merchant and merchant Frances Gomis bought two neighboring houses in the named area. He commissioned the architect Joan Garrido to transform the property into a representative house in the style of the time. A few years later, after the blockade and capture of Barcelona by Napoleon in 1808, the palace was captured by the French military. General Giuseppe Lechi , who headed the Napoleonic troops in Catalonia, resided here. Due to renovations, the building was given a new facade in 1855. At the beginning of the 20th century, the building was heavily modified in a modernist direction. After the Spanish Civil War , a brothel and poor house were established in the property. At the beginning of the 21st century, the first floor of the building complex was restored for an exhibition center for modern art. This project won the important FAD architecture and restoration award in 2002. Three years later, the Fundació bought the entire complex and lovingly restored it. The Museu Europeu d'Art Modern was then established in June 2011 in said Palau Gomis .

Art and buildings

The first floor consists of a large, central music hall, the building's former Sala noble , which is surrounded by exhibition rooms. Temporary exhibitions and jazz concerts are held on this floor. The second floor has numerous exhibition rooms. Here modern tendencies in figurative art of the 21st century are shown, which are still struggling for their recognition in society. The third floor offers a special collection of the finest works of the very best European and North American contemporary fine art. Here you can find works by Don Eddy , Roberto Ferri , David Kassan or Doriano Scazzosi .

literature

  • MEAM: Information sheet Art contemporani Segle XXI in German and Italian (status 2018, also available in other language versions at the cash desk)

Web links

Commons : Museu Europeu d'Art Modern  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Footnotes

  1. ↑ www.barcelona.de: Museu Europeu d'Art Modern, Barcelona. Retrieved March 11, 2018 .
  2. ↑ The chapter "The building" (history) is taken from the Catalan language Wikipedia. The details are also shown there.
  3. ↑ The exact address of the building complex is: c / Barra de ferro, 5, 08003 Barcelona.
  4. ↑ This last section is based on the MEAM information sheet (as of 2018).

Coordinates: 41 ° 23 ′ 4.2 "  N , 2 ° 10 ′ 46.7"  E