Picasso at the Cyprus Museum. Works in Clay

jusqu’au 08 septembre 2019
Cyprius Museum,
Nicosia
http://www.mcw.gov.cy/mcw/da/da.nsf/page04_new_en/3CC34BBB4E2D4EF9C2258410003D03BA?

At the mature age of sixty-five, Pablo Picasso developed a passion for ceramic art, which became one of his main forms of expression until the end of his life. In fact, the famous artist’s systematic engagement with ceramics began in 1946 in Vallauris, while on vacation there. In this village in the South of France, Picasso met the owners of the ‘Madoura’ pottery workshop, Suzanne and Georges Ramié. The couple had reopened an old ceramic workshop with a traditional wood-burning kiln. So great was the artist’s excitement with the place and the potential of clay as a material, that a year later he settled in Vallauris together with his new partner, Françoise Gilot. This was the beginning of an extremely fruitful collaboration with the Ramié couple, who actually put both their workshop and artisans at the disposal of the artist. Thus, the ideal conditions were created for Picasso to begin experimenting feverishly with the various techniques of clay.

The ancient art of pottery, the malleability and durability of clay as a raw material, the unpredictable end result, the combination of arts (painting, sculpture, pottery), the usability and transformation of clay objects were all elements that fascinated Picasso. At the same time, the distinctive features of the South of France and Vallauris in particular, such as the ample space, the light, the fragrances of nature and the simplicity of everyday life, all decisively contributed to the opening of a new and important chapter in the life of the artist. Over the next years and until 1971, Picasso created an enormous number of original ceramic works, which exceed 3,500 in number.

Picasso believed that the art of ancient civilizations “is not a thing of the past”. In his ceramic works, the artist evidently uses various shapes, motifs, textures and themes from antiquity and mythology, without copying them, however. Instead, he created a whole new reality. From his preparatory sketches to his final works, one can distinguish influences from the pottery art of ancient cultures, particularly those of the Mediterranean region.