While Joan Miró occasionally created reliefs and sculptural assemblages early in his career, it was not until the mid-1960s that they became a major part of his working practice. Throughout the following decade he produced more than two hundred sculptural objects ranging from small to monumental in size. Head in the Night is one of several early sculptures that Miró cast in bronze using the lost-wax method. The original assemblage included objects that he found in his studio or during his daily walks; tree limb that forms the body of the figure is the most recognizable of these. Miró assembled the parts spontaneously, maintaining the distinct identity of each individual component while also creating an overall composition. This work is evocative of the visual iconography of humorously imagined and mythically charged creatures and forms that Miró developed throughout his paintings and works on paper.

Label from Artists in Depth: Arp, Miró, Calder, March 25, 2011–April 15, 2012