L'Esperit Catalàa work of the Collection from Museo Universidad de Navarradonated by the collector María Josefa Huarte, will be exhibited from April 9 to June 30 at the Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, as part of the program ".The Invited Work". The presentation ceremony was attended by: Joxean Muñoz, Deputy Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport of the Basque Government; Miguel Lopez-Remiro, director of Museo Universidad de Navarra, and Javier Viar, director of the Museum of Fine Arts in Bilbao. They were also accompanied by Charo Huarte, the person representing María Josefa Huarte.

In this monumental work, Tàpies made a urban wall as a place of expression political and personal, reflecting Catalan life in the last years of Franco's regime. The four vertical stripes of the Catalan flag, the painting is full of inscriptions. In general, these are open messages of spiritual and political renewal: dialogue, social equality, democracy, truth, culture.

Tomás Llorens, member of the Board of Trustees of the Collection from Museo Universidad de Navarra and also from the Advisory Commission Artistic Director of the Bilbao Fine Arts Museum, who accompanied the collector in numerous acquisitions, emphasizes her passion for Tàpies. "That this work is integrated in a collection developed far from the political dimension, indicates the enormous breadth of mind of the collector". And she continues: "Beyond whether or not it is a work related to a historical moment, it is also, and before that, a work of art.. In the same way as Guernica, it transcends historical circumstances, because above all it is a work of art history". This is what Llorens said in a conference he gave at the UniversityThe exhibition will be presented at the "Art Collecting Forum" organized by the center in March 2012.

María Josefa Huarte donated her entire art collection - about fifty paintings and sculptures - to the University of Navarra in 2008. She did so with the intention of "rooting the collection in Navarre, and helping to place this community in the European cultural current". But, in addition, the text of the donation agreement encouraged the establishment of relationships with other museums and collections, highlighting the interest in "seeking synergies and mutual enhancement with other centers that share the objectives of promoting art in society, researching it and disseminating it., paying special attention to the nearest museums". Thus, with the loan to the Fine Arts Museum of Bilbao, the wishes of María Josefa Huarte are fulfilled. The Bilbao museum is the sixth center to exhibit this emblematic work by Tàpies, a key piece in the entire legacy.

In addition to four other Tàpies, the legacy of María Josefa Huarte consists of works by Spanish artists such as Pablo Picasso, Jorge Oteiza, Pablo Palazuelo and Eduardo Chillida, among others, as well as international artists such as Kandinsky and Mark Rothko.

The Museo Universidad de Navarra Collection also includes an important photographic collection, the result of a previous donation, that of the photographer José Ortiz-Echagüe. It is thus clear that the future museum will be a space for collectors.

The Museo Universidad de Navarra building, designed by Rafael Moneo, is under construction on the Pamplona campus of the University of Navarra and will be officially inaugurated in early 2015.