My day with Picasso.

For all Australians this is a rare and enriching opportunity' Harold Mitchell AC (Chairman, Art Exhibitions Australia)

'This is the great Picasso show to which we have often aspired but not yet achieved in Australia. Make the most of it because we will never have such a show again' (Edmund Capon, Director AGNSW)

“The exhibition is an excellent study of the artists influences, his practices and processes and will give visitors a greater understanding of the man, modern art and what it means to live a creative life’. The Hon Simon Crean MP (Federal Minister for the Arts).

I have to agree with all of the above.  The exhibition is astounding and moving.  And I really did feel privileged to be able to see it. Whilst I first learnt about Picasso back in school and had looked at his work and his impact on modern art history and practice whilst at college I had never become a real fan, and was perhaps naieve in my understanding of his significance. But upon reading an incredibly in-depth biography (by Patrick O'Brian) over the last few months I was immediately struck by a person completely set apart- a person who was truly prolific from childhood.  It seeped out of him at every moment. He pushed boundaries. He was courageous and confident and completely independent of trends. So whilst walking through this exhibition after immersing myself in his work and life, I was totally inspired- not necessarily by his particular style, but by his truly creative life.
I walked away completely challenged to make no more excuses.

This exhibition is like getting a sneak peak into the soul of the man. Not only does it span his entire career, more than 70 years of artmaking, but these are pieces that were kept in Picassos own private collection until his death. These are 'Picasso's Picassos.' (Interestingly, these works were gifted to the French state by his family after he died in lieu of taxes.) So whilst Picasso is famous for saying that every painting is like a page from his diary, you can't help but feel that this is most true of these works which the artist had held onto for himself for so long.

Walking through 10 rooms of drawings, etchings, paintings and sculptures you can’t help but wonder about the total value- a figure not revealed to the public for security reasons. But when the ‘Nu au Plateau de Sculpteur’ was sold last year at Christies for $106.5m (yes, million) and other works have fetched upwards of $50million since 1989, it is perhaps a little overwhelming to see over 150 Picassos in one place.(.....shiiiivers!!! it really is a privelege to get up close to this stuff!!). The works were transported in individual crates, specially lined with foam and foil which can regulate internal temperatures for up to 5 days (to prevent the paint from chipping, cracking or fading). The works are also protected by special glass that filters out UV light and the wing of the AGNSW that houses the exhibition has been refurbished low UV lights and wall linings to carry the weight of the heavier works.

As mentioned earlier, in the lead up to this exhibition I have been reading a biography to try to get into the headspace to make the most of the opportunity and truly appreciate the man and his work. And what an intriguing character! He was constantly drawing on walls, paper, pavements and was dreadful at school. He couldn't spell or do math to save himself and  was regularly found in his own world, staring out of windows. His father sent him to art school years before the appropriate enrolment age and he stunned professors by completing the practical entry examinations in only a fraction of the time usually taken by most students and with incredible proficiency. He lived in absolute poverty for much of his early life and career, and so his pre-occupation with painting the homeless, the destitute and the poor and the lonely is, like all of his work, a self portrait of sorts. Despite his genius, he always identified himself with the down and outs and those who lived on the fringe.

Reading about his processes and how he preferred to paint late into the night by lamplight was fascinating! Stories about his earliest collectors and exhibitions and outbursts in cafes are entertaining. And then there's the legend about the time he and one of his friends determined to live in a cave in the woods to each complete a masterpiece only to have the paintings destroyed in a storm! Oh, and of course, that whole thing about having a pet chimpanzee in his Parisian apartment....

Room 7 covers 1940-1951, World War II to Korea. While the Nazis invaded and occupied Paris, Picasso continued to work and if you spend long enough in this room you will eventually be reduced to tears. Whether you like the works or not, the strength of emotion and  the tension between the brutality and vulnerability he witnessed is tangible and moving. Even the walls in this room are painted a deep dark grey in contrast to the white walls in all the other rooms- creating an incredible sense of reverence in this one part of the exhibition. Here is a man saying clearly what words cannot.

can you spot the beautiful new addition to my collection? 

For those of you who aren’t Picasso fans or know little about the man and his work, take the time to read the free catalogue brochure as you walk through to get the most out of the exhibition. My husband and I stopped in each room to read the info about the next one before entering it and found the experience and journey so much more enriching- it also meant we were both on the same page. And whoever you are with, take a moment to pick a favourite from each room and discuss it- makes the whole thing more fun, and it’s interesting to see the work through someone elses eyes as well....  although, you’ll be hard pressed to choose a favourite from the whole exhibition.

Make sure you check out all the  incredible photography and the short film of Picasso painting on glass ( it's not in the main exhibition area but set up beside 19th Century European gallery- n your right as you come in the main entrance)

Also, be sure to check out the incredible list of related events to maximise your experience- it's phenomenal what has been planned! Musical performances, films, workshops, lectures, interactive character tours, spanish dancing, and of course, kids programs too!

And you can download a bunch of podcasts here to get further insight into some of the pieces on display.

I’m already planning a return visit to the gallery before the exhibition closes on 25 March 2012.

Read a great piece about the exhibition here, about the security and transport logistics here, about the lighting requirements here,  insights from a former mistress Francoise Gilot here, and a little more about the exhibition here