“Pilar Juncosa, l’estel fulgurant”

Background

In 2021, in order to call greater attention to the figure of Pilar Juncosa, recognizing and paying tribute to her importance, various initiatives were undertaken. On the one hand, the library of the Fundació Pilar i Joan Miro a Mallorca was renamed the Pilar Juncosa Library. On the other, we joined in the Viquidones project, headed by Cort Library to mark International Women’s Day on March 8^th, aimed at boosting the number of Wikipedia entries on women from the Balearic Islands. Together with the Juncosa family and Successió Miró, the Pilar Juncosa library wrote an entry on the subject of Pilar Juncosa.

Pilar Juncosa, a dazzling star

Following on from this, we have created a permanent exhibition space in our library dedicated to Pilar Juncosa. Once again, we aspire to offer an insight into someone who played a major role in the Catalan artist’s life and work and in the construction of the Fundació Pilar i Joan Miró a Mallorca.

Pilar Juncosa was not only Joan Miró’s companion and spouse and the mainstay of the family. She was also the person in charge of handling and resolving day-to-day problems, providing the balance and support that Miró needed to devote himself fully to his work. For an artist who sought to express the immeasurable and aspired to offer us a glimpse of the impossible, she was a much-needed tie to the earth and a link with reality. As Miró’s biographer, Jacques Dupin, explained:

She was indeed Pilar the pillar

EXHIBITION | In addition to a chronology of Pilar Juncosa, the exhibition also features three display cabinets:

SECTION 1 _ Pilar Juncosa, a guardian angel. This focuses on personal aspects of Pilar Juncosa, reviewing her childhood, youth and adulthood, looking at Pilar the daughter, wife and mother. It emphasizes her ties with her family, her wedding to Joan Miró, and the birth of her daughter Dolors.

SECTION 2 _ Pilar Juncosa, manager of Miró’s work. Pilar played a vital role in Miró’s professional career: she planned his travels, took part in meetings with lawyers, booked hotels and restaurants, managed his agenda, monitored compliance with the terms and conditions of exhibitions, checked his correspondence etc. Despite not speaking English, she learnt intuitively to deal with artists, art dealers, gallery owners, curators, journalists and members of the public authorities.

AREA 3 _ Pilar Juncosa and the Foundation. In 1981, Pilar Juncosa played an active role in the creation of the Fundació Pilar i Joan Miró a Mallorca, when the couple paved the way for it by drawing up the statutes and donating documents and works of art. After Miró’s death, it became clear that a headquarters was needed to exhibit the artist’s work. Pilar Juncosa announced the donation of the land where the Moneo Building now stands and she auctioned 42 works at Sotheby’s to fund its construction. Hence, the Moneo Building can be said to be the legacy that Pilar Juncosa left us, while the library collection largely comprises donations of books, magazines, newspapers and periodicals made by Pilar Juncosa during the early years of the Foundation.

Location: Library Pilar Juncosa, located at the -1 floor of the Moneo Building.

Opening hours: Monday and Friday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and from 3.30 to 6 p.m.