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Picasso: Mosqueteros

by habituallychic

05 . 04 . 09

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!





10 Comments
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  1. mary May 5, 2009 | 12:09 am

    Heather, thank you for the great information. I love being able to see tha paintings as placed in a gallery to understand the size and scope and ultimately energy. I just bought a pair of surreal etchings by another great Spanish artist and had been thinking of Picasso all day.

  2. hansaxel May 5, 2009 | 9:10 am

    That looks absolutely mindblowing… Slightly scaring too to know that an art dealer can create museum-quality exhibitions… With everything on sale…
    How far private art galleries can replace museums?…

  3. lissadzn May 5, 2009 | 10:19 am

    apparently the theme of the day! happy tuesday!

  4. Petra Voegtle May 5, 2009 | 11:55 am

    I must admit that I loved Picasso as a teenager, studied his work and “copied” even some of his linocuts etc. and painted them in oil.
    But when I learned what an a.. he was as a human being and man I lost my respect and my admiration completely.
    I have seen lots of his works at original places such as the south of France – but I wasn’t so impressed either. I know this might be a sacrileg for some people, but being an artist is a huge privilege that should not result in poor human behaviour.
    Sadly enough this applies to quite a few great artists…

  5. Habitually Chic May 5, 2009 | 3:27 pm

    Mary – It was an amazing exhibition and I had to walk through it twice to take it all in!

    Hansaxel – I don’t how many of these were on sale or if any of them were which is even more amazing. It was a great show.

    Lissa – not sure what you mean so let me know.

    Petra – you know what they say about tortured artists. Someone once mentioned that a lot of artists have mental illness issues which helps their creativity but not their regular lives so perhaps there is more to all their stories.

  6. Fancy for nyc May 5, 2009 | 5:21 pm

    I saw this exhibition too, it was worth the trip.

  7. Alexandre May 5, 2009 | 5:28 pm

    GREAT feature, but “inconveniently located” for whom? He’s in the heart of the art district!

  8. Brillante Home Decor May 5, 2009 | 6:16 pm

    I enjoyed so much this Post that I had to mention it on my latest article. Thanks Heather for the insight.
    Albarosa

  9. maison21 May 7, 2009 | 6:34 am

    i’ve been trying to figure out how to get to new york for a weekend before this closes, but it ain’t going to happen. too swamped with work ’til mid may, and then i have plans every weekend thru mid-june. durnit.

  10. La Linda May 8, 2009 | 12:44 pm

    incredible exhibition!
    as someone else said “inconveniently located”? HA HA you must live on the UES! 😉