Exhibitions - Until September 12, 2021 - Picasso. Figures and Opening a Dialogue About Body Liberation
Don't delay! The MNBAQ's two summer exhibitions will end in one month.
"With Picasso. Figures, the MNBAQ casts a 'topical, courageous' light on the artist's work." [translation]
– Léa Harvey, Le Soleil
"The six sections of the Picasso. Figures exhibition will delight
art lovers."[translation]
– Éric Clément, La Presse
QUÉBEC CITY, Aug. 11, 2021 /CNW Telbec/ - Only one month remains to see the Picasso. Figures exhibition, which ends on September 12, 2021, presented by Quebecor, which highlights Pablo Picasso (1881-1973). The masterpieces assembled celebrate the human figure, the artist's favourite subject and presented in an exclusive Canadian engagement at the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec (MNBAQ).
To complement the exhibition, Opening a Dialogue About Body Liberation exhibition, a group exhibition in a continuous circuit rooted in the contemporary world, will echo the work of this giant of modernity. Picasso rejected the diktats of the aesthetic cannons linked to the representation of the human figure, which enables the MNBAQ to raise certain contemporary social concerns and offer relevant, thoughtful reflection on body diversity. The exhibition links Picasso's work with that of 10 contemporary artists, i.e., The Womanhood Project (Sara Hini and Cassandra Cacheira), Marion Wagschal, Arianne Clément, Haley Morris–Cafiero, Alain Benoit, ChasonYeboah, Fred Laforge, Kamissa Ma Koïta, Kezna Dalz and Les folies passagères (Maude Bergeron), who are interested in their practice in the representation of the body. This complementary adventure focuses on openness and rapprochement with others and proposes active participation in debate in our society aimed at improving it.
Infinite exploration of the body
Presented as a thematic retrospective that explores more than 75 years of the artist's career, Picasso. Figures has been organized by the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec in collaboration with the Musée national Picasso-Paris and MondoMostre. The exhibition comprises 76 works, including 47 major paintings, drawn from its remarkable collection, produced between 1895 and 1972. From portraits, influenced by years of apprenticeship inspired by 17th century Spanish masters, to the representations featuring expressionist, liberated body movements of the final period, the deconstructed, reconstructed, constantly transformed body turns into malleable figures on the path of this unique genius.
Six seminal works illustrate six fascinating themes
The exhibition focuses on six themes: Female figures, Cubist figures, Magic figures, Sculptural figures, Disfigured figures, and Late figures. It mainly comprises paintings, drawings, and prints, ranging from the Spanish master's formative years to the final paintings in the last period. It also assembles a remarkable collection of sculptures that reflect the artist's multidisciplinary dimension.
Among the showpieces that illustrate each of themes on the exhibition circuit and the striking periods of Picasso's career, mention should be made of: La Lecture (1932), Man with a Guitar (1911), Figure : projet pour un monument à Guillaume Apollinaire (1928), The Bathers (1918), Grand nu au fauteuil rouge (1929), and finally, Luncheon on the Grass, After Manet (1960.
A tribute to Picasso's muses
Picasso is praised for his art. However, many biographies also give an account of his reprehensible behaviour towards women. Must we separate the artist's life from his work? Picasso himself responded to this ethical and philosophical question: "It is not sufficient to know an artist's works. It is also necessary to know when he produced them, why, how, and under what circumstances." The MNBAQ has decided to pay tribute to the women in his life who were his muses since Picasso's work is closely linked to his love stories, in which passion and violence and destruction meshed.
A pause during the visit
Furthermore, a section of the exhibition will also afford an opportunity to hear three of the twofold exhibition's collaborators, Mickaël Bergeron, Cassandra Cacheiro and Sara Hini, propose avenues for reflection on the possibility of differentiating the lives of artists from their work. They broach this ethical question from different angles to sustain our personal reflection. In an age of cultural boycotts, maintaining a dialogue enables us to better grasp the questions and to highlight the grey areas that have persisted over time.
Credits
Picasso. Figures is organized by the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec in collaboration with the Musée national Picasso-Paris and MondoMostre. The contribution comes from the Mesure d'aide financière à l'intention des musées d'État pour des expositions internationales majeures.The exhibition Opening a Dialogue About Body Libération is organized by the MNBAQ.
The Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec is a state corporation funded by the Gouvernement du Québec.
Picasso. Figures
Opening a Dialogue About Body Liberation
Pierre Lassonde Pavilion of the MNBAQ
Until September 12, 2021
SOURCE Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec
418 643-2150 or 1 866 220-2150 / mnbaq.org
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