When I was little, I used to paint and draw all the time. I visited museums and loved art but hated Picasso. I always thought I could paint better than he could. During my senior year of college, I took an entire course devoted to Picasso. On the first day, the professor told the story of how Picasso could paint like a master at the age of 15 and then spent the rest of his life trying to paint like a child. Then I got it.

If there is anyone who doesn’t get that Larry Gagosian is the most powerful man in the art world, they should see Picasso: Mosqueteros. “It is the first exhibition in the United States to focus on the late paintings since Picasso: The Last Years: 1963-1973 at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in 1984.” I had the pleasure of walking through the show last week and I can say is that it is amazing! The Gagosian Gallery is inconveniently located but the trek is worth it. The exhibition was curated by Picasso biographer John Richardson who you can hear speak about the artist and his paintings on the New York Times website.

Picasso may have tried to paint like a child but these paintings were done in the last few years of his life when he was focused on death. You can see this in many of the self portraits and even though he was in his late 80’s when these were painted, they are still vibrant, brilliant, and full of energy and spectacular. They are also full of beautiful color combinations that as a designer, I found truly inspiring. I highly recommend that you check it out so you can get Picasso too! Although, you might want to first get a taxi!