"Louvre Abu Dhabi" Hosts an exhibition "Picasso, Perception of Form"

ABU DHABI, 21 JANUARY / WAM / The Louvre Abu Dhabi Museum, in cooperation with the Musée National Picasso in Paris and the Agence France-Muséums, is hosting the “Picasso, Envisioning the Form” exhibition, which highlights the artist Pablo Picasso, the most influential artist of the twentieth century.

The exhibition, which runs until May 31, traces Picasso’s depiction of form, starting with his early experiments according to the Cubist school, through classical paintings and surrealist works, all the way to his bold paintings that he created at a late stage in his artistic career.

Under the supervision of exhibition curators Cécile Debray, Head of the Musée National Picasso in Paris, Virginie Berdrissot-Cassin, Chief Curator and Head of the Department of Sculpture and Ceramics at the Musée National Picasso in Paris, and Aisha Al Ahmadi, Associate Curator of the Musée National Picasso in Abu Dhabi, the exhibition provides a look at Picasso’s career and the chronology of his artistic works and blends his radical artistic transformations with Greek mythology, as manifested through his diverse techniques in photography, sculpture, planning, and ceramics.

The exhibition brings together more than 130 artworks loaned from France, Qatar, Lebanon, the UAE, and West Asia, including seven works from the collection of the Louvre Abu Dhabi Museum, and six works from the collection of the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi, in addition to other artworks.

All of these works on loan from eight institutions and private collections, in addition to one art gallery, represent valuable contributions to the exhibition. Among these institutions are the Louvre Museum (Paris), the National Furniture Foundation (Paris), Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art (Doha), Dalloul Art Foundation (Beirut), Meem Gallery (Dubai), and Burjeel Art Foundation (Sharjah).

Major works by six Arab artists are distributed throughout the exhibition, highlighting Picasso’s influence on modern art in the Arab world and its resonance that extended beyond the borders of Europe.

The displayed collection includes paintings by Iraqi artists Diaa Al-Azzawi, Jawad Salim, and Shaker Hassan Al Said, in addition to the Egyptian artist Ramses Younan.

A colorful ceramic work is displayed by the Algerian artist and painter Baya Mohieddine, whose exhibition in 1947 at the “Mite” Gallery in Paris attracted the interest of Surrealist artists and the interest of Picasso himself, which reflects a joint artistic exchange between them.

Manuel Rabaté, Director of the Louvre Abu Dhabi Museum, said that the “Picasso Perception of Form” exhibition, which is unique in its kind, explores the legacy of one of the most prominent artistic icons of the twentieth century, and visitors will be able to view an exceptional collection of artworks that span key stages in his artistic career. In line with the vision of the Louvre Abu Dhabi and to enrich the experience of art lovers, we will present distinguished artworks by Arab artists in an effort to shed light on the ongoing dialogue with Picasso’s legacy, and dialogue between cultures from the perspective of Broader, as this concept forms the core of our museum’s mission, and our firm commitment to clarifying the links between global artistic narratives, and we express our deep gratitude to our partners and lending entities, at the regional and international levels, whose cooperation with us played a prominent role in establishing this distinguished exhibition.

Cécile Debray, President of the Musée National Picasso in Paris, and Virginie Berdrissot-Cassin, Chief Curator and Head of the Department of Sculpture and Ceramics at the Musée National Picasso in Paris, said that this first solo exhibition dedicated to Picasso at the Louvre Abu Dhabi presents an authentic journey centered around the problem of visualizing form. The exhibition was designed based on the richest collections of Picasso’s works in the world, and was prepared based on the spirit of joint cooperation between the work teams and the collections of the Louvre Abu Dhabi. This institution embodies the cultural meeting point between East and West, and between archeology and modern art. The exhibition explores how Picasso constantly reinvented the concept of representation and expression, starting with the unique forms of the Cubist school, all the way to the classical forms of the 1920s, and the hybrid objects in his surrealist phase.

The exhibition offers an immersive journey through a large collection of abundant and astonishing works of art, full of global repercussions, and includes a group of artistic masterpieces that are displayed for the first time ever at the Louvre Abu Dhabi.

The exhibition welcomes visitors with a clip from the film “The Picasso Mystery” by French director and screenwriter Henri-Georges Clouzot, which depicts Picasso at work, and sets the general framework for exploring Picasso’s artistic development within the context of modernity.

The exhibition is divided into five thematic sections and provides a rare opportunity to explore the artist’s creativity and his continuing influence across cultures. It reflects Louvre Abu Dhabi’s mission to connect global artistic narratives and display artistic masterpieces that shaped the features of modern art.

In a related context with the exhibition, an integrated program schedule was prepared for community activities aimed at enriching visitors’ experience and enhancing dialogue about art and creativity.

The museum is also scheduled to host a variety of educational activities for adults, families, and youth.

A podcast about the exhibition will be available on the Louvre Abu Dhabi website and its mobile application, allowing the public to explore its topics from anywhere. The booklet for the “Picasso, Envisioning the Form” exhibition will be available in Arabic, English, and French in the museum store and online.

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