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Exhibition featuring Spanish artist Joan Miro's works opens

Xinhua, October 1, 2016 Adjust font size:

An exhibition featuring over 80 works by Spanish Surrealist artist Joan Miro opened to the public on Saturday.

The exhibition was inaugurated on Friday evening by Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, Prime Minister Antonio Costa and Spanish acting Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy.

Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa on Friday welcomed the government's decision to keep the works of Spanish artist Joan Miro in northern Portugal.

Rebelo de Sousa congratulated the museum for holding the exhibition and said there was no better place to keep the works.

The exhibition, entitled "Joan Miro: Materiality and Metamorphosis", collects works of the Spanish artist from 1924 to 1981.

The paintings became property of the Portuguese state in 2008 when troubled Portuguese bank Banco Portugues de Negocios (BPN) had to be nationalized.

The government was planning to sell his 85 paintings to raise cash, following years of harsh austerity after a 78-billion-euro(87.68 billion U.S. dollars) bailout was signed in 2011.

The sale of the paintings to London's Christie's gallery was abruptly cancelled earlier this year after an opposition challenge.

"With this collection we learnt that banks can be worth a lot but they can fall, however something stays and has intangible value which is the value of the cultural creation of the 80 paintings that Miro painted, " Prime Minister Antonio Costa said.

Spanish leader Mariano Rajoy also welcomed the decision to keep the works at Serralves and said it was an important tie between both countries.

"Of many bonds that join us, the cultural one is of special importance," Rajoy said, adding: "while economic and commercial relations are important, they can vary throughout the years, but creativity is lasting and brings together hearts and mentalities of both countries."

Mayor of Porto, Rui Moreira, revealed Friday night that the art works would remain at the Casa de Serralves for a long time.

Miro was born in 1893 in the Spanish city of Barcelona and passed away in Spain's Palma de Mallorca in 1983. Enditem