This is one of the city's more exciting contemporary art spaces, both in terms of its setting and what's inside. Opened in 2002 in the Casaramona, an old modernista textile factory designed by Puig i Cadalfach that was used as police barracks in the '30s, the vibrant edifice features a red-brick facade and singular turret, to which the Japanese architect Arata Isozaki added a daring walkway, courtyard, and entrance. (Isozaki is the designer responsible for the Palau St. Jordi, a major music and meeting venue, farther up the hill of Montjuïc.) Inside, after passing the huge abstract mural by Sol Lewitt, the elevator whisks you up to three exhibition spaces, connected by exterior halls. These are changing constantly, meaning that three normally very diverse shows can be viewed at the same time. L'Art Nouveau exhibition, in 2006, showed 19th-century art dealer Siegfried Bing's collection, which ranged from Japanese and other Asian works to van Gogh and Toulouse-Lautrec. The foundation puts on a lively calendar of related events and performances, the latter focusing on world music and modern dance. There is an excellent bookshop in the foyer.

Copyright: Excerpted from Frommer's Barcelona, 2nd Edition, (c) 2008, Wiley Publishing, Inc.

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