Picasso Metamorphoses 1900-1972
A comprehensive collection of paintings, drawings, engravings, sculptures, ceramics and poems of legendary artist Pablo Picasso has graced the exhibition titled Picasso Metamorphoses 1900-1972, which has been organized at the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA) Mumbai from February 15 to March 30, 2002. Patronized by J P Morgan, the exhibition features 120 original works of Picasso, which have been handpicked from the collections of Musee National Picasso, Paris, Centre Georges Pompidou, Musee d'art Moderne de la ville de Paris, Musee de L'Orangerie, Musees de Grenoble, Saint-Etienne and Villeneuve d'Asq and Musee d'Antibes and the family collections of Claude and Bernard Picasso.

The exhibition has been jointly organized by the National Gallery of Modern Art, Ministry of Tourism and Culture, Government of India and the Embassy of France. The co-curators of the exhibition are Dr Marie-Laure Bernadac (Musee Picasso, Paris) and Dr Saryu Doshi (Hon.Director, NGMA Mumbai).

Picasso - The Artist
Pablo Picasso was born in Malaga, Spain on October 25, 1881. Right from the tender age of 14, he was very proactive as an artist. Always controversial and revolutionary, he experimented with all mediums and materials. His works reflect the developments of the Blue period (1901) the decades of Cubism, Collage, Cubist-Abstraction, Neo-Classical, Neo-Surrealism, etc.

The optical vision of an artist often transcends the superficial barriers to capture the conceptualized meaning of life. Picasso had himself professed during his illustrious career: "I paint forms as I think and not as I see" Picasso was able to correlate the different aspects of life and its melancholy on the canvas. The paintings are bold, and expressive, which effectively summarize his gamut of emotional experiences with different women. Some of his works such as the Weeping Women can be termed as a subtle expression of the Spanish Civil War.

The other paintings, which are on display at NGMA, includes the Portrait of a Man, Nude with Crossed Legs, The Adolescents, Man with Mandolin, Music Instruments with Skull, Woman in White Hat, Woman Reading, Woman in Blue Hat, Nude in Turkish hat, Woman with Pillow, etc. Picasso had also dabbled with poetry. He often decorated his poems with impressive drawings.

The other features of the exhibition are the seminars on art institutions in India, philosophy of Cubism, art workshops, film, theatre, poetry and food festival.



















For details contact:
National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA)
Mahatma Gandhi Road, Fort
Mumbai - 400 032
Tel: 2881969/70

by: Wasim Siddiqui