We love Picasso – KOG Regensburg pays tribute to the Picasso Year

In 2023, the art world will commemorate the 50th anniversary of Pablo Picasso's death

The Kunstforum Ostdeutsche Galerie Regensburg will also celebrate the reception history of Picasso's work with the exhibition “We love Picasso” . The groundbreaking artist, known for his changing styles, is the focus as an inspiration and role model for the contemporary art scene in Central and Eastern Europe .

A comprehensive selection of works by artists from Poland and the former Czechoslovakia presents pieces that take up and develop Picasso's motifs and style. The exhibition opens on October 6 at 7 p.m. and is open from October 7, 2023 to January 7, 2024.

Throughout every creative period, Pablo Picasso (born in Malaga in 1881 and died in Mougins in 1973) exerted an incredible attraction on artists of his own age and younger. The exhibition “We Love Picasso” at the Kunstforum Ostdeutsche Galerie focuses on the perception of the artist within the art scene of Central and Eastern Europe.

Picasso's anti-war art

During the Nazi occupation, Picasso remained in his adopted hometown of Paris. In 1944, he decided to join the Communist Party. Although Picasso stated that he did not primarily intend to use his art for political purposes, he nevertheless created an iconic anti-war image with his 1937 masterpiece "Guernica," which illustrated the destructive fury of the Spanish Civil War

His peace dove also became a frequently used motif on posters for world peace congresses, which Picasso attended, occasionally as a speaker. In August and September 1948, he participated in a peace congress of intellectuals in Wrocław and Warsaw, where he received an award from the Polish president and an exhibition of his ceramics was opened in Wrocław.

On this occasion, the artist also traveled to Krakow and Auschwitz.

Czech Cubism

Although there is no documentation of Picasso 's stay in Czechoslovakia, he had direct contact with Czech artists in Paris. There he also met the Czech art historian Vincenc Kramář , who played a significant role in introducing Picasso's early Cubist work and the works of Georges Braque to Czechoslovakia

Kramář began collecting Picasso's works as early as 1910 – initially privately and later as director of the predecessor institution of today's National Gallery in Prague. Kramář was also a great supporter of the Czech Cubists. The movement of "Czech Cubism" developed into a broad movement encompassing all areas of everyday life.

Following in Picasso's footsteps in Poland and Czechoslovakia

The KOG is presenting an exhibition that traces Picasso's influence in Eastern European countries such as Poland and Czechoslovakia. The presentation of his works in exhibitions, as well as the accompanying media coverage, are important factors in understanding his impact on this region.

The aim is not only to examine his style, themes, and motifs, but also the individual positions and developments of selected artists. Some were only influenced by Picasso at the beginning of their careers, while others were later inspired by his figurative language.

The Bohemian artist Erika Streit initially rejected Picasso, before finally engaging with his work in the 1940s and exploring his style and motifs in ceramics, paintings and graphics.

The exhibition at the Kunstforum Ostdeutsche Galerie Regensburg

The exhibition will present artworks from the KOG's own collection, as well as loans from private collections and museums in Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic.

The exhibition includes a variety of artists such as:

• Jankel Adler
• Jozsef Csaky
• Josef Čapek
• Slawomir Elsner
• Wojciech Fangor
• Emil Filla
• Bernhard Heisig
• Alfred Hrdlicka
• Tadeusz Kantor
• Jiří Kolář
• Bohumil Kubišta
• Jacques Lipchitz
• Antonín Procházka
• Goshka Macuga
• Moriz Melzer
• Bernard Schultze
• Willi Sitte
• Erika Streit
• Bohumil Štěpán
• Max Uhlig
• Alois Wachsmann

The exhibition is a collection of unique masterpieces that transport visitors to a world full of artistic beauty.

Exhibition details:

We love Picasso

Where: Kunstforum Ostdeutsche Galerie Regensburg

Duration: October 7, 2023 to January 7, 2024

Curator: Dr. Agnes Tieze

Contact person: PhDr. Gabriela Kašková | g.kaskova@kog–regensburg.de | 0941 29 714 2

Website: Kunstforum.net

The Kunstforum Ostdeutsche Galerie is supported by the grant providers, sponsors and partners of the exhibition:

• The Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media
• Bavarian State Ministry for Family, Labour and Social Affairs
• City of Regensburg
• REWAG
• Sparkasse Regensburg
• Cultural partner BR2

Joachim Rodriguez y Romero

Owner and Managing Director of Kunstplaza . Publicist, editor, and passionate blogger in the fields of art, design, and creativity since 2011. Graduated with a degree in web design from university (2008). Further developed creative techniques through courses in freehand drawing, expressive painting, and theatre/acting. Profound knowledge of the art market gained through years of journalistic research and numerous collaborations with key players and institutions in the arts and culture sector.

www.kunstplaza.de

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