The Barrié de la Maza Foundation hosts the exhibition “Miró, a collection” at its headquarters in A Coruña until 16 May. It consists of a selection of 35 oil paintings undertaken by the author on different mediums, among which we must highlight the use of Tablex hardboard, currently manufactured exclusively by the Galician company Betanzos HB.
Miró used hardboard to carry out his works; both at the beginning and during his last stage, a series of 27 paintings were undertaken with this material in 1936 are of particular note. He carried out the paintings on any of the sides of the hardboard, but what was really original was the use he made of the rough side of the board, which he used without any kind of previous treatment, choosing to leave the original colour of the wood visible.
Miró possibly discovered this thanks to his relationship with foreign painters who had already used it as a support for their works, with different names like “masonite” or “celotex”.
Today, Betanzos HB is the only company in the world that manufactures Tablex.
Tablex, the authenticity of the support
Nowadays, textured surfaces are a trend in decoration, as a symbol of the authentic and original, in order to personalize environments and put new sensory experiences into value.
Tablex offers this feature thanks to a rough side with the soft, warm touch of the wood, which puts its nature into value, while offering excellent strength, flatness and durability.
These properties have traditionally made it a usual medium for works of art, and used by painters such as Picasso or Dalí.
Miró took the use of this material further, since he not only painted around a hundred works on hardboard, but, used the inspiration offered by this medium in the creation of his work. He painted several pictures on the rough side of the Tablex, allowing its texture and colour to be part of the work. Examples of this are “Hirondelle”, “Le Chant des oiseaux á láutomne” or “Femme, oiseau”, which can now be seen at the headquarters of the Barrié Foundation in A Coruña.
Crédito imagen de cabecera: Femmes et oiseaux II / Mujeres y pájaros II, 1969 Óleo sobre lienzo 50 x 61 cm Colección Particular en depósito temporal ©Successió Miró 2020