Picasso Sculpture

  • Visual arts
  • New York
  • Mon, Sep 14, 2015 —
    Sun, Feb 07, 2016
Picasso Sculpture

A sweeping survey of Pablo Picasso’s innovative and influential work in three dimensions.

Over the course of his long career, Picasso devoted himself to sculpture wholeheartedly, if episodically, using both traditional and unconventional materials and techniques. Unlike painting, in which he was formally trained and through which he made his living, sculpture occupied a uniquely personal and experimental status for Picasso.

He approached the medium with the freedom of a self-taught artist, ready to break all the rules. This attitude led him to develop a deep fondness for his sculptures, to which the many photographs of his studios and homes bear witness. Treating them almost as members of his household, he cherished the sculptures’ company and enjoyed re-creating them in a variety of materials and situations.

Picasso kept the majority in his private possession during his lifetime. It was only in 1966, through the large Paris retrospective Hommage à Picasso, that the public became fully aware of this side of his work. Following that exhibition, in 1967 The Museum of Modern Art organized The Sculpture of Picasso, which until now was the first and only exhibition on this continent to display a large number of the artist’s sculptures.

Picasso Sculpture focuses on the artist’s lifelong work with sculpture, with a particular focus on his use of materials and processes. The exhibition, which features more than 100 sculptures, complemented by selected works on paper and photographs, aims to advance the understanding of what sculpture was for Picasso, and of how he revolutionized its history through a lifelong commitment to constant reinvention.

The exhibition is organized in chapters corresponding to the distinct periods during which Picasso devoted himself to sculpture, each time exploring with fresh intensity the modern possibilities of this ancient art form. This exhibition will be the first such museum exhibition in the United States in nearly half a century.

Venue

Venue map

The Alfred H. Barr, Jr. Painting and Sculpture Galleries, fourth floor, The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), 11 W 53rd St, New York, NY 10019
212-708-9400

Admission

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Museum of Modern Art

Credits

Organized by The Museum of Modern Art in collaboration with the Musée national Picasso – Paris. Image: Pablo Picasso (Spanish, 1881–1973), Bull, Cannes, c. 1958, The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Gift of Jacqueline Picasso in honor of the Museum’s continuous commitment to Pablo Picasso’s art, © 2015 Estate of Pablo Picasso/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.

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