Monday, June 4, 2012

Picasso!

Yesterday we went to see the Picasso exhibit at the Art Gallery of Toronto. This is a benefit of living close to a major city: good exhibits come around. I thought I'd share my three favourite pieces.
This is a portrait of his Picasso's first wife, Olga Khokhlova. It is titled: Portrait of Olga in an armchair. 1918 The audio guide pointed out that although the figure was handled realistically, the chair background (or cloth) was painted in a flat style. And then it also mentioned how he cleaned his brush off on the sides; and talked about the beauty of the three patterns (the fan, the dress and the chair). I just found it completely mesmerizing.
The next piece I couldn't tear myself away from was Acrobat. 1930. The positive and negative shapes of this piece are so exciting. What a thing to see it in person. It is large: 162x130cm (64x51 inches) and commands quite a presence.
This is Études. 1920. I like this piece for personal reasons. The audio guide said this was a bit of a mystery. Picasso had painted a number of pieces or "studies" in this one work. Some he had painted a frame around, some were cubist, some representational. It was stated that Picasso worked in these styles simultaneously, not believing that one had to stick to one way of seeing things. I found this almost revolutionary ; ) I have battled a bit with the mix of wanting to investigate abstracts while also continuing representational plein air. Now I feel like I've been given permission.
 

4 comments:

Nicki said...

Thanks so much for sharing these Kim! We just talked about this exhibit today at the studio because one of the artists booked a ticket to Toronto to go to see it! I guess there is a great weekend deal available. Hmmm, now I'm thinking about it!

I totally hear what you are saying about the permission thing. And I think that is huge to give ourselves the AOK to experiment and not be boxed in to any one way of expressing ourselves. I'm so glad you have allowed yourself to pursue your interest in abstracts. If you hadn't we would have missed out on some fantastic artwork!

martinealison said...

je suis certaine que vous allez passer un excellent moment en visitant cette exposition.
De toutes les expositions de Picasso, celle que j'avais beaucoup aimé et apprécié était celle du Musée Picasso à Antibes. Si vous venez un jour en France, je vous la conseille fortement.
Gros bisous à vous.

Fay Terry said...

This is a great post, Kim. I really like it when you share things you have been to see and the photos are wonderful. I can see why you like the last one because you really CAN do it all!

Debra Zubrinich said...

Great post Kim! I can't wait to see the exhibition. You have helped validate this need I also have to paint in both abstract and representational. I have an oil painting of a flower and an acrylic abstract on my easels as I write this. It's so much fun doing both.