The Mystery of Picasso’s Creative Process
PUBLISHED July 4th, 2013 02:49 am | UPDATED January 20th, 2016 04:35 pm
STPI’s latest exhibition, The Mystery of Picasso’s Creative Process: The Art of Printmaking, is a genuinely fascinating new exhibition that our little red dot is lucky enough to experience these next two months.
While Picasso is one of the most famous artists in the world, STPI has chosen to showcase a collection of rare prints in their ever admirable cause to introduce and educate the people of Singapore to the often-underrated medium of print-making. We were fortunate enough to sit in on the media preview and enjoy a curator’s tour of the pieces, as well as a brief skype chat with none other than Claude Picasso, Pablo Picasso’s son and world recognized expert in his father’s work.
Although the works on show are smaller than Picasso’s usual painted offerings, the message they convey and their overall impact are by no means diminished. There are several series displayed; ‘The Bull’, ‘Two Nude Women’, ‘Woman with a Hat’ and ‘El Greco’s Portrait of a Man with Spanish Collar’, as well as a further enlightening collection of photographs featuring Picasso in his studio or at work.
Each series consists of several prints arranged chronologically so that the viewer is able to clearly see the shifts taking place from one piece to the next, and follow Picasso’s thoughts from the first print to the last. It’s a truly remarkable insight into the mind of one of the greatest artists in history, laid out simply but effectively in order to communicate the genesis of an idea, and how experimentations in line, form and colour can create extraordinary new possibilities.
We particularly recommend spending some time taking in the eleven prints that make up the ‘Bull’ series, which is perhaps the most insightful into not only Picasso’s groundbreaking new ideas, but also his state of mind. Beginning with a realistic sketch of a bull, each print moves further and further away from the original form, as lines and shapes shift and become simplified before your eyes. The final print is reduced down to a handful of simple lines – yet despite the minimalist outcome, the piece holds a far stronger power than the original sketch. If you’ve ever been curious about Cubism and the artistic journey into abstraction, this is a rare and wonderful chance to get your teeth into Picasso’s process.
This exhibition is also a great opportunity to learn more about different printing processes, if you’re unsure of your lithograph from your linocut. Curator Tatyana Frank is the mastermind behind bringing these works to Asia for the first time, as she is passionate about developing the knowledge of Picasso prints in Asia and particularly Singapore. If you only visit one show this month, you should definitely make your way over to STPI for a chance to catch not only a great show of Picasso’s work, but a rare and valuable insight into his creative process.
You can catch ‘The Mystery of Picasso’s Creative Process: The Art of Printmaking’ at STPI from now until August 24th. STPI is located at 41 Robertson Quay, 238236.
