Picasso!

Yesterday we went to see the Picasso exhibit at the Art Gallery of Toronto. This is a benefit of living close to a major city: good exhibits come around. I thought I'd share my three favourite pieces.

This is a portrait of his Picasso's first wife, Olga Khokhlova. It is titled: Portrait of Olga in an armchair. 1918 The audio guide pointed out that although the figure was handled realistically, the chair background (or cloth) was painted in a flat style. And then it also mentioned how he cleaned his brush off on the sides; and talked about the beauty of the three patterns (the fan, the dress and the chair). I just found it completely mesmerizing.

The next piece I couldn't tear myself away from was Acrobat. 1930. The positive and negative shapes of this piece are so exciting. What a thing to see it in person. It is large: 162x130cm (64x51 inches) and commands quite a presence.

This is Études. 1920. I like this piece for personal reasons. The audio guide said this was a bit of a mystery. Picasso had painted a number of pieces or "studies" in this one work. Some he had painted a frame around, some were cubist, some representational. It was stated that Picasso worked in these styles simultaneously, not believing that one had to stick to one way of seeing things. I found this almost revolutionary ; ) I have battled a bit with the mix of wanting to investigate abstracts while also continuing representational plein air. Now I feel like I've been given permission.