Although Pablo Picasso certainly received more public exposure than any other artist in the history of XXth century, he is paradoxically perhaps also the most enigmatic. Art historian Maurice Rheims, appointed by the French government to document the artist’s personal belongings after his death, discovered more than 45’000 unknown pieces. In short, it was a Picasso inside Picasso, and just as formidable. Since then, this chance find of vast proportions has forced scholars to open new routes of exploration and completely redraw the map of his career.

The exhibition Picasso. A Different Gaze, adopts a new approach to the art of Picasso, including works that can be fitted, not only inside iconographic or stylistic compartments, but also offering new ways to better understand the evolution of the artistic and personal career of the Spanish master.

Lugano’s Museo d’Arte della Svizzera italiana pays homage to the great Spanish master in an exhibition organized in cooperation with the Musée national Picasso of Paris and curated by Carmen Giménez, one of the world’s leading authorities on the artist. Through the relationship between design and culture, the exhibition takes an entirely fresh look at how Pablo Picasso’s language evolved over time.

Comprising 120 works, 105 drawings and 15 sculptures, all executed between 1905 and 1967, the exhibition covers a vast time span and aims to shed light on Picasso’s role in the development of twentieth century art. The selection offers a new perspective on his creativity and includes each of his artistic periods, with special attention to works unfamiliar to the general public, chosen not only because they are rare but because they can help broaden conventional interpretations of his work. Many of the works in the exhibition are on paper and, along with the sculptures, they reveal the artist’s most intimate side: two media Picasso favoured but which have rarely been exhibited side by side.

The pieces on display are all on loan from the Musée national Picasso of Paris which is home to the most complete collection of the artist’s works. They document all of Picasso’s creative stages from the cubism down to his final works.

The exhibition is organized by MASI, Lugano in collaboration with Musée national Picasso, Parigi