The Week UK 01Feb2020

30 ARTS

THEWEEK1February 2020

Art

PabloPicassowasa

compulsivedraughtsman,

saidRachelCampbell-

JohnstoninTheTimes.

“Idraw,likeotherpeople

bitetheirnails,”heonce

explained,claimingthat

paperitself“couldseduce

him”.Hewasn’t

exaggerating:Picassosimply

couldnotstophimselffrom

collaging,reshapingor

doodlingonwhatever

materialscametohand:

“invitationcards,book

pages,lettersandenvelopes,

wrappingpaper,metro

ticketsandblottingpads”

–allwerecanvasesforhis

“fabulouslycreative”mind.

Thisextraordinarynew

exhibitionattheRoyal

Academyisthefirst tofocus

on theartist’s astonishingly

inventiveworks onpaper,

tracingachronologicalarc

thattakesusfromthedrawings ofPicasso’schildhoodtosketches

madewellintohis90s.Incorporating some 300 works–including

rarelyseendrawings,printsandcollages,aswellassculptures,

costumedesignsandphotographs –the showcastsanintimate

lightonPicasso’s“fantasticallyfertilecareer”,and “capturesthe

vitality”ofoneof the 20thcentury’sgreatest minds.

Thebestoftheseoff-the-cuffsketchesandexperimentson paper

are“stunning”, said EddyFrankelin TimeOut. Fromthe“heart-

wrenching” etchingTheFrugal Meal,executedwhenPicassowas

inhislateteens,tothe “stonyfaces” and mutedpaletteofhis

RosePeriod,andhisfirst,

revolutionaryexperiments

inthecubiststyle,“the

workisawhirlwindof

innovation”.Indeed,even

asetof“animalcut-outs”

createdwhenhewasjust

nineyearsoldisremarkably

accomplished.Yetforallof

its“jaw-droppingmoments

ofbeauty”,theexhibition

devotesfartoomuch

attentiontotechnical

detailsandfeelstoobig

byhalf,makingforan

“endlesssprawl”ofPicasso

ephemerathatcould

havebeen“atleastthree

roomssmaller”.

Manyexhibitsheremay

seemlessthanspectacular,

saidAlastairSookein The

DailyTelegraph.Anapkin

tornintotheshape ofa

skull,forinstance,will be

of interest toonly“themostardent Picasso-worshipper”.

Nevertheless, even“seeminglythrowaway”items–notesscrawled

on hotelstationery,politicalcartoons drawnovernewspapers,a

“macabre”displayof paper animalsthatPicassocreated tocheer

up hisloverDora Maarfollowingthedeathofher petdog–add

toourknowledgeofPicasso’screative processes,demonstrating

how even anostensibly inane doodlecouldserve asaconduit to

aradicalnew artistic idea.Throwin anumber ofstudies for

masterpieces including 1907’sLes Demoisellesd’Avignonand

you have agenuine blockbuster. Thisisa“beautifullycurated”

showthat is“full ofsurprisesand delightfulmoments”.

Exhibition of the week Picasso and Paper

Royal Academy, London W1 (020-7300 8090, royalacademy.org.uk). Until 13 April

This intriguing exhibition focuses

on an eccentricgroup of artists

active onLondon’sbohemian

fringesinthe 1970sand 1980s.

Too disparate to be classedas

a“movement”, these figures

nonetheless shared an anarchic

disregard for conventionand

embrace ofwhatiss ometimes

dismissed as “camp”or“kitsch”.While

some–nota blyfilm-director Derek

Jarman and“AlternativeMiss World”

organiserAndrew Logan–achieved

recognition through othercult ural

exploits,others faded into often

undeserved obscurity. This sh ow

presentsawelcome opportunityto

rediscover them, andthough not

everything is great–aselectionof

Jarman’s drawings andpaintings

suggestscine ma really washis medium

–the highlights are tremendous.

Luciana Martinez’s1982 painting

PruPruis aberserk stylisticcollision

between Klimt, Alma-Tademaand

Hockney, while Duggie Fields’

illustrative,pop-informed depictions of

pin-ups inmodernistinteriorsoffset his

encyclopaedicart-historicalknowledge

with aninfectious irreverence.Prices

range from £400to£40,000.

20 Cork Street, LondonW1

(020-7734 1732). Until15 February.

“LeDéjeunersurl’herbe”,afterManetI(1962):“awhirlwindofinnovation”

Where to buy...

The Week reviews an

exhibition inaprivate gallery

THEM

at the Redfern Gallery

Kevin Whitney’s Chelita (1969), oil on canvas

Ononelevel,

itisjust

a“pretty

Victorian

former

fisherman’s

house”inthe

shadowof

Dungeness

nuclear power station, said Mark Brown in The

Guardian. But to its admirers, Prospect Cottage

is “a work of art in its own right with an

internationally recognised garden”–and a

“shrine” to the late Derek Jarman, one of the

greatest film-makers of his generation. Jarman

bought the property onaremote shingle beach

in Kent in 1986, and created an unusual garden

which has attracted thousands of visitors and

greatly influenced British garden design. After

his death in 1994, the cottage was looked after

by his companion, Keith Collins–but following

Collins’ own death,acampaign has been

launched by high-profile figures, including the

actress Tilda Swinton and Stephen Deuchar,

director of the Art Fund, to raise £3.5m to buy

the house and fund an endowment to preserve

it. “Prospect Cottage isaliving, breathing work

of art, filled with the creative impulse of Derek

Jarman at every turn,” said Deuchar at last

week’s launch. “[It] is imperative... to save” it.

Jarman’s seaside “shrine”

©S

UCCESSION PICASSO/DACS 2019