The Spanish Council of Ministers has declared Joan Miró's ceramic mural at Terminal 2B of Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat Airport a Bien de Interés Cultural (BIC), or Cultural Asset of Interest. This designation, proposed by Culture Minister Ernest Urtasun, offers the highest level of protection under Spain's Historical Heritage law.
Miró created the large mosaic to fulfil a promise made in 1968, when he stated Barcelona would receive "the great work I had not yet offered it". The Culture Ministry started the process for this declaration in November 2025, categorising the ceramic mural as a movable asset.
A Collaborative Masterpiece
The mural is a collaboration between Miró and ceramist Josep Llorens Artigas. Barcelona City Council commissioned the work in 1968, coinciding with an expansion of the airport infrastructure. Installation began in 1970 and took six months, with 60 plaques fitted daily to cover the mural's 500 square metres. It was officially unveiled on 18 March 1971.
The artwork measures 50 metres wide by 10 metres high and consists of 4,865 rectangular glazed tiles arranged horizontally. Its large size and materials give the piece an approximate weight of 35 tonnes. All the plaques were fired in a noborigama kiln at Llorens Artigas's workshop. This stepped kiln produces irregular and uneven results on the ceramic surfaces, a characteristic enhanced by the colour and light effects from Miró and Artigas's free glazing technique. A total of 464 firings were needed to bake the nearly 5,000 pieces of the mosaic.
Miró and Artigas's Shared History
This airport collaboration was not the first project Miró and Llorens Artigas undertook together. It forms part of a period of large ceramic murals created by both artists between the 1940s and 1980s. Other notable public works by the duo include those at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris (1957), Harvard University (1960), the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York (1967), the Maeght Foundation in Saint-Paul-de-Vence (1968), and the Palacio de Congresos in Madrid (1968).
The BIC declaration ensures the long-term preservation of this significant artwork, securing Miró's legacy at one of Catalonia's busiest gateways. Future efforts will focus on maintaining the mural's condition and ensuring its accessibility for public enjoyment.
