Picasso Edouard Malingue Gallery Until Dec 4
Edouard Malingue has gathered an eclectic mix of Picasso's works to open his new Hong Kong gallery, presenting a rare chance to see original art from the master. Ranging from works completed in 1901 to those near the end of Picasso's life, the exhibition contains, for example, a rare sketchbook produced in 1970 as well as the wonderful Studies (Study for Two Nudes, below) from 1906.
Studies is a masterful indian ink and watercolour sketch that was the basis for Picasso's famous Two Nudes (1906), now at the Museum of Modern Art, New York. The sketch, which exemplifies the artist's 'blue' period, is both delicate and substantial with two stout women in profile against a ragged blue curtained background. You can almost feel the energy of an artist about to make an aesthetic breakthrough.
In contrast, the series of ink drawings from an extraordinary sketchbook provides a glimpse into the artist's method late in life, representing not only a playful side but also his sense of organisation and tracking, as he notates each drawing with dates and various addendums made over the course of several months. Here we begin to see how Picasso's process unfolds through quick, deft line drawings.
One highlight is the large oil painting Man and Nude Woman from 1965, shrewdly garnered from a small private collection in Japan. Filled with subtle blues, greys and greens, it depicts a reclining male figure eyeing a convoluted female form, referencing a long tradition of reclining figures, from Velasquez to Manet, particularly Le dejeuner sur l'herbe. This selection, from an ambitious series of reclining figures he produced in his 80s, is Picasso at his best, at least in this genre.
Malingue's astute curatorial selection allows viewers to engage with work rarely seen not only in Hong Kong but anywhere in the world and bodes well for this new, elegantly designed space in Central.