Key Takeaways
- Joaquim Gomis, though less celebrated than Antoni Gaudí and Joan Miró, played a crucial role in preserving and promoting Gaudí’s architecture through his photography.
- The exhibition Gaudí–Miró–Gomis: Deconstructed at Casa Batlló re‑examines the artistic dialogue among these three figures, using contemporary digital tools to reveal hidden details.
- High‑resolution photogrammetry, 3‑D scanning, and AI‑generated reinterpretations allow visitors to see tool marks, weathering, and textures invisible to the naked eye.
- Miró’s transition from painting to three‑dimensional work was deeply influenced by Gaudí’s organic forms, a connection highlighted by both original artworks and new digital installations.
- The curators emphasize that Gaudí, Miró, and Gomis shared a radical, experimental spirit that continues to inspire contemporary artists engaging with new technologies.
- Visitors are encouraged to appreciate the underlying love of nature, Catalan identity, and playful simplicity that unites the trio’s seemingly disparate media.
- The exhibition runs until January 2027, offering a layered experience that can be enjoyed superficially or explored in depth through biographical and technical sections.
Origins of the Exhibition
The idea for Gaudí–Miró–Gomis: Deconstructed emerged during early planning talks between Casa Batlló’s team and the Fundació Joan Miró. While scouting for a collaborative project, the Miró foundation mentioned a previous show titled Miró, Gomis, Gaudí that focused on Gomis’ photographs of Gaudí’s architecture in dialogue with Miró’s work. Joana Seguro, co‑curator and artistic director of Casa Batlló Contemporary, found the connection compelling, especially after discovering how little-known Gomis’ contributions were despite his extensive documentation of Casa Batlló and other Gaudí sites. This revelation sparked the desire to revisit and expand the original exhibition with modern technology, creating a richer, multi‑layered narrative.
Gomis’ Forgotten Legacy
Joaquim Gomis was a modernist photographer and close friend of Joan Miró who, in the 1940s, captured Gaudí’s buildings with an artistic eye that highlighted their textures, forms, and intricate details. At a time when many in Barcelona’s artistic establishment dismissed Gaudí as merely eccentric, Gomis’ images helped establish the architect’s vision as worthy of serious study. His archive, now digitised, offers a living record of Gaudí’s work that would otherwise have been limited to occasional prints. By bringing Gomis’ photographs into the forefront, the exhibition corrects a historical oversight and underscores how his lens shaped public perception of Gaudí long before the architect achieved global acclaim.
Digital Re‑interpretation of Miró’s Sculptures
A central component of the show is the dialogue between Miró’s original bronzes and etchings and new digital installations created by Tomorrow Bureau. Using high‑resolution photogrammetry and 3‑D scanning, the team captured every ridge, tool mark, and surface anomaly of Miró’s sculptures—details that escape ordinary viewing. These scans are then deconstructed and re‑assembled in virtual space, allowing visitors to rotate, zoom, and explore the works from angles impossible with the physical pieces. The digital artefacts serve not as replacements but as complementary lenses that reveal the craftsmanship and experimental nature underlying Miró’s seemingly simple forms.
AI‑Enhanced Exploration of Gomis’ Archive
In another gallery, Gomis’ extensive photographic archive undergoes a generative AI transformation. The algorithm analyzes patterns, lighting, and composition across thousands of images, producing new visual compositions that echo his style while extending his vision into contemporary aesthetics. This “living database” enables a carousel of images that can be browsed fluidly, offering a depth of access unimaginable in the original exhibition, where only a selection of prints could be displayed. The AI‑driven reinterpretation demonstrates how Gomis’ early photographic experiments anticipated later digital collage techniques, earning him the informal moniker “the creator of Photoshop” among the curators.
Technology as a Bridge Between Past and Present
Joana Seguro explains that the exhibition’s radical approach lies in commissioning Tomorrow Bureau not only to produce digital works but also to design the set, soundscape, and overall environment. This holistic strategy creates an immersive context where visitors can experience the interconnectedness of Gaudí’s architecture, Miró’s sculptures, and Gomis’ photography without the constraints imposed by physical conservation or gravity. The balance between tangible objects and their digital counterparts encourages a dialogue that honors the original artworks while embracing the exploratory possibilities of modern tools.
Would Gaudí and Miró Embrace AI?
When asked whether Gaudí and Miró would have adopted artificial intelligence and digital media, Seguro reflects that their defining trait was a relentless curiosity and willingness to experiment with new materials and methods. While it is impossible to know their exact reactions, she believes they would likely view AI as another extension of their experimental spirit—provided it did not eclipse the importance of craftsmanship, materiality, and the hand‑made quality that defined their work. The exhibition thus positions technology not as a replacement for tradition but as a means to amplify the artists’ innate drive to push boundaries.
The Deceptive Simplicity of Miró’s Work
Visitors often perceive Miró’s paintings and sculptures as childlike or simplistic, yet Seguro argues that this apparent simplicity is the result of deep deliberation and experimentation. The playful shapes echo natural forms—mushrooms, stars, and organic curves—that both Miró and Gaudí observed and abstracted. What looks whimsical is, in fact, an elegant solution to complex aesthetic problems, distilled into essential lines and colors. This pursuit of distilled expression mirrors Gaudí’s architectural logic, where functional constraints yielded fantastical, nature‑inspired forms, and Gomis’ photography, which framed those forms with precise compositional clarity.
What Visitors Should Take Away
Seguro hopes that visitors leave with a renewed appreciation for Joaquim Gomis’ role in cementing Gaudí’s international reputation, recognizing that his photographs were instrumental in shaping how the world sees the architect’s genius. More broadly, she wishes the audience to sense the unifying thread among the three creators: a profound curiosity about life, nature, and Catalan identity, expressed through a love of playful, essential forms. The exhibition offers multiple pathways—biographical sketches, technical deep‑dives, or pure sensory immersion—allowing each guest to engage at their preferred depth while feeling the resonant connection between Gaudí’s architecture, Miró’s art, and Gomis’ lens.
Practical Information
Gaudí–Miró–Gomis: Deconstructed is hosted on the newly restored third floor of Casa Batlló in Barcelona and will remain open to the public until January 2027. The show blends original artworks, cutting‑edge digital installations, immersive soundscapes, and interactive elements, inviting visitors to rediscover a pivotal yet overlooked chapter in Catalonia’s cultural history while contemplating how historic avant‑garde spirits continue to inspire today’s creative explorations.