The Nabis and Anselm Kiefer, the stars of La Pedrera in 2026

BarcelonaOne of the goals of the Catalunya La Pedrera Foundation, chaired by Marta Lacambra, is to contribute to making Barcelona a city of major exhibitions, the kind that generate queues. In recent years, it has dedicated its exhibitions to renowned artists such as Jaume Plensa, Miquel Barceló, and Antonio López, and in 2026 it will continue along these lines with an exhibition on the Navigator painters, key figures in the transition from Impressionism to the early avant-garde movements, and another on the German Anselm Kiefer (Woman), masters of the 20th century. "I think these projects establish us as a major institution internationally," says Marga Viza, director of the culture department of the Catalunya La Pedrera Foundation. "In our pursuit of excellence and top-level artistic content, next year we will reach the sky," Viza emphasizes.

The term Nabi comes from Hebrew and means prophetThe artists of this group, which was active between 1888 and 1900, sought to generate a total art, often with a mystical character, in which there was no hierarchy between the decorative arts and painting and sculpture. The exhibition, which will run from March 6 to June 28, will include works by leading figures from the group, including Édouard Vuillard, Maurice Denis, Aristides Maillol, and Félix Vallotton. This project is supported by the Musée d'Orsay, which has loaned seven works, and by around forty other lenders, thirty of which are French museums. Coinciding with the exhibition, the foundation and the Musée d'Orsay organized an international conference on the blueberry in Paris.

On the other hand, the exhibition dedicated to Anselm Kiefer will feature his display cases, a series of glass cases in which the artist keeps objects and fragments of materials that function as time capsules and summarize central themes of his work and collective work. "Kiefer's display cases combine opposing concepts: they are transparent and dense, light and heavy, and the objects they contain are both easy to recognize and enigmatic. Kiefer uses materials as varied as lead, cement, glass, stones, wire, pieces of fabric, tree roots, or books, to express hope and loss," reads the presentation of the exhibition, which will be open from October 2, 2026, to January 24, 2027. The works on display come from the Grothe collection and other European private collections, and this will be the artist's first solo exhibition in Spain dedicated exclusively to this group. Magnum Opus.

Cristina Iglesias's grand arrival in Barcelona

Before these exhibitions, this year's program will close with the first major solo exhibition of Basque artist Cristina Iglesias in Barcelona, ​​​​in line with the importance that sculpture has in the foundation, something unusual. "It's a language that interests us especially because it plays very well with the building," says Viza. As it happened with Sean Scully's current exhibitionIglesias is creating a sculpture specifically for the building. The selected works will reflect different aspects of Iglesias's work, such as his use of materials, including iron, copper, resin, and alabaster, and the interplay between light and shadow. You will also be able to see how Iglesias works with plant elements and how these works interact with the architecture.