17 September–27 October 2001

The Crawford Municipal Art Gallery is organising of the most significant exhibitions in its 127-year history. Picasso: Watercolours and Drawings, 1896-1934 will bring to Cork sixty drawings by the twentieth century master and pioneer of Cubism, Pablo Ruiz Picasso. The exhibit will be on display from September 14 until October 27, 2001.

“This is a concrete confirmation of the Crawford Gallery’s expanding level of activity in the European arts community, and a testimony to Cork’s continuing emergence as an important cultural centre,” said Director Peter Murray. “None of these drawings has ever before been seen in Ireland, and they represent a tremendous opportunity for Irish audiences to experience in person the work of one of the acknowledged geniuses in the history of art.”

On loan from the Musée Picasso in Paris, the drawings span the diverse range of styles that Picasso (1881-1973) explored during his long and remarkably prolific career, but are linked by a fundamental theme: the human figure. They trace the Spanish-born artist’s development from working in Barcelona in the 1890s, through his move to Paris in 1902, with the last exhibited work dating from 1934. By that time Picasso had forged the path to Cubism – the deconstruction of form that shocked the world and irreversibly altered the course of modern art.

“Most people identify Picasso exclusively with Cubism, but this show demonstrates his incredible versatility, as well as his current personal concerns – his mistresses, pleasures and preoccupations are represented,” said Mr. Murray. “Picasso himself said, ‘The way I paint is my way of keeping a diary.’”

The sixty drawings, executed on paper in pencil, charcoal ink and goauche, are on loan from the Musée Picasso in Paris. They will be displayed in the Crawford Gallery’s striking new two-storey extension, designed by Dutch architect Erick van Egaraat. The Crawford Gallery is now able to host such fragile works as these, thanks to the extension’s sophisticated climate controls.

“Picasso drew constantly, compulsively, and left behind a vast body of work,” according to Crawford Gallery Exhibitions Officer Anne Boddaert, who has organised Picasso: Watercolours and Drawings, 1896-1934. “These works range from sketches on the back of an envelope to formal studies for oils that are now classics in the Picasso canon, such as ‘Les Demoiselles d’Avignon.’”

Other drawings demonstrate the underlying technical skill, classical training, and emotional acuity that Picasso brought to the humblest of subjects.

A full-colour catalogue will be on sale, and an education outreach programme is planned. A special supplement to The Irish Examiner to be published in September will include education materials for primary and secondary school students and teachers.

Picasso: Watercolours and Drawings, 1896-1934 at the Crawford Municipal Art Gallery is made possible by the generous support of Project Management Group; The Irish Examiner; The Ireland Funds; Cork Corporation; The French Embassy; Punch Shoe Care; and CDGA Engineering Consultants.

The Crawford Municipal Gallery is open Monday through Saturday from 10 until 5. Admission is free.

For further information contact:
Anne Boddaert P: +353 (0) 21-4273377
F: +353 (0)21-4805043
E: crawfordgallery@eircom.net