Press release
288KB
october 05, 2023 - Gagosian Gallery
Gagosian to Present “A Foreigner Called Picasso” in New York, Opening November 10, 2023
It seems that everything has been written about Picasso.
No other body of work has provoked as much passion, debate, and controversy.
But who knows that his sole application for French naturalization was denied in 1940?
—Annie Cohen-Solal
Gagosian is pleased to present A Foreigner Called Picasso at its West 21st Street gallery in #newyork. The exhibition is curated by the eminent writer, biographer, and historian Annie Cohen-Solal together with art historian Vérane Tasseau. It is organized in association with the Musée national Picasso–Paris and the Palais de la Porte Dorée–Musée national de l'histoire de l'immigration, Paris.
Spanning the entirety of Pablo Picasso's career in France from 1900 through 1973, the exhibition will feature loans of important works from private and public collections in the #unitedstates and Europe. It includes early self-portraits lent by the Museum of Modern Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in #newyork, as well as Cubist and Surrealist masterpieces from the Philadelphia Museum of Art and Fondation Beyeler, Riehen/Basel. The iconic sculpture Head of Fernande (1909) will be displayed, as will Man with a Lamb (1943)—Picasso's forceful response to the aesthetics of Arno Breker (Adolf Hitler's favorite artist), who exhibited in occupied Paris.
The exhibition will be punctuated by the figure of the harlequin, Picasso's allegorical avatar, which represents both a psychological self-portrait and an itinerant, performing outsider on the margin of society. Picasso depicted this archetypal figure in every stage of his career. A Foreigner Called Picasso will include several extraordinary examples from different periods, notably including the first iteration of the theme, Seated Harlequin (1901), on loan from the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Based on Cohen-Solal's award-winning book, Un étranger nommé Picasso (Fayard, 2021; Gallimard, 2023)—published in English as Picasso the Foreigner (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2023) and in Spanish as Un Extranjero Llamado Picasso (Paidós, 2023)—the exhibition will reframe our perception of Picasso and focus on his status as a permanent foreigner in France. As early as June 1901, at the time of his first show at Galerie Vollard, a file was opened on the nineteen-year-old artist by the French police, who would continue to monitor him all his life. He was stigmatized as a foreigner, an alleged anarchist, and an avant-garde artist—all labels that he seemingly ignored, but that undeniably affected his daily life and work. Beyond his considerable artistic oeuvre, Picasso proved to be a shrewd political strategist, and eventually became a significant contributor to France's cultural modernization. In 1955, he left Paris for the South of France, reinventing himself as a global artist and illustrious foreigner, while anchoring his work with local craftsmen and openly disputing the standards of "good taste" that held sway in the French museum world.
How did Picasso navigate the multiple spheres—Spanish, French, Andalusian, Catalan, Galician, Castilian, anarchist, and communist—in which he was categorized? How did he survive the confiscation of hundreds of Cubist works seized by the French police in 1914? How did he react to the repeated rejection of his paintings from French institutions until 1947? Such are some of the questions that A Foreigner Called Picasso addresses and answers. Today, amid a global migration crisis, it is urgent to reassess Picasso's trajectory in France. His odyssey as a foreigner and his agency as an artist are indeed powerful models for our times.The exhibition reimagines the critically acclaimed Picasso l'étranger (Musée national de l'histoire de l'immigration, in partnership with the Musée national Picasso–Paris, 2021–22) which was awarded the 2022 Prix Historia for best historical exhibition in France. According to Laurent Le Bon, president of the Centre Pompidou, "Cohen-Solal's fascinating inquiry, via history and sociology, has produced . . . a conceptual revolution. With the new horizons that she opens up, we see the image of a genius who was long perceived through an artistic prism only."
A Foreigner Called Picasso will be accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue with essays by the curators and contributions from leading international scholars—from Picasso experts to social scientists as well as intellectuals at large—together with a symposium to further explore the important new perspectives opened by this exhibition.
The exhibition is organized as part of Picasso Celebration 1973–2023: 50 exhibitions and #events to celebrate Picasso, a transnational program taking place in cultural institutions across Europe and North America to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of Picasso's death.
A FOREIGNER CALLED PICASSO
Curated by Annie Cohen-Solal and Vérane Tasseau
Opening reception: Friday, November 10, 6–8pm
November 10–December 22, 2023
522 West 21st St, New York
6253.ART484744
3600x4817, 11MB
Related news |
||
|
|
|
june 27, 2023
|
april 13, 2023
|
july 22, 2022
|
|
The space will screen films from the Filmin catalogue in the months of July and August in its auditoriumTo commemorate the 50th an... |
“Comment voulez-vous qu’un spectateur vive mon tableau comme je l’ai vécu? Un tableau me vient de loin; qui sait de combien loin, ... |
In Room 3 of Museo Picasso Málaga, Spain, there is a small masterpiece by #pablopicasso on display, to your left as you enter the ... |
Download all 
You might be interested in |
||
|
|
|
december 29, 2021
|
october 18, 2021
|
march 23, 2021
|
|
Museo Picasso Málaga presents its exhibition programme for 2022. Until summer of next year, the Málaga museum’s exhibitions will... |
19th October 2021 – 3rd April 2022• The exhibition The Paris of Brassaï. Photographs of the City Picasso Loved, presented by #muse... |
● Glass, Newspaper and Dice is a relief painting that belongs to the permanent collection of the Musée national Picasso-Paris and ... |
Italian 
Download all 
Share
Share via mail 
Automotive
Sport
Events
Art&Culture
Design
Fashion&Beauty
Food&Hospitality
Technology
Nautica
Racing
Excellence
Corporate
OffBeat
Green
Gift
Pop
Heritage
Entertainment
Health & Wellness