"It is the hand that does all, often without intervention of thought "- Pablo Picasso
No artist has changed the world of the image as radically as Pablo Picasso. The endless possibilities that rested in the movements of his hand has led to a prolific œuvre. A drawing is pure in its expression, in the image formed and the effect it creates upon the observer. Picasso saw drawing as a means of expressing the present moment, bringing thoughts, feelings and emotions to life upon the canvas. The act of putting pencil to paper was fundamental to his creative process.
At the turn of the twentieth century, Paris was the heart of the modern world, a magical metropolis alive with excitement. From the signs that illuminated the Champs-Élysées to the wild alleyways of Montmartre, artists and intellectuals from all over the world were drawn to the bright lights and bohemian spirit that spread across the city. The speed of life was accelerating, as was societies perception of it. Picasso begins to explore the concept that art should embody life, not just document it. A concept which he grasps during the early 1900s and develops on throughout his artistic career.
Picasso strove to capture the spontaneous, immediate sensations of the modern world around him through a wealth of themes in constantly changing styles. Perhaps this is why his drawings and watercolours are never static, fixed, or completed. Rather, they are simultaneously a product of the past, present and future. His work, like him, is timeless.
The Art world of today is infinite, and as a result the simplicity of drawing tends to be overlooked. Although Picasso’s work spans across multiple mediums and movements, from the invention of the papier collées to that of his Blue and Rose periods, this exhibition aims to revive the power of the pencil, tracing the intricate working process of Picasso's mind upon the page.