Picasso's iconic works are displayed together with those of contemporary Asian artists, offering an opportunity for a unique cross-cultural experience for visitors.
Co-organised by M+ and the Musée National Picasso in Paris, and in association with the French May Arts Festival, this exhibition named “Picasso for Asia-A Conversation” is held at the M+ Museum from Mar. 15.
It provides the audience a fresh and unique look at Picasso's influence on Asian art, and explores the complex relationship between Western and non-Western, according to the M+ website.
“Influenced by Picasso's Cubist painting style, Asian artists have injected traditional Oriental calligraphy and Zen into the Cubist framework, constituting a unique Oriental aesthetic,” said Wang Jingfang, 51, Director of China Artists Association.
“For example, Hong Kong artist Chen Fushan's painting Untitled (Figures Transfixed by a Butterfly) combines geometric segmentation techniques to show surreal spatial layers in ink painting form,” Wang added.
“I have a deeper understanding of Picasso's art when comparing the paintings of Picasso and those of Asian artists,” said Zhang Qing, 20, a university student in architecture. “Such cross-cultural exhibition is the presentation of artistic works and ideas at a higher level.”
Lee Kityue , 45, a member of M+, has visited many different kinds of exhibitions before.
Lee said that unlike previous solo artist exhibitions, this cross-cultural fusion exhibition made her feel fresh.
“Breaking away from Western perspectives and interpreting Western art through Asian culture is very interesting,” Lee said. “I hope to see more exhibitions of this type in the future.”
In addition to the basic artwork display, the exhibition also features a variety of immersive interactive installations, such as audio-visual projections and interactive painting systems.
“Art is not a static image, not a one-way output,” said Yuki Zhang, 30, a digital artist. “With the use of interactive installations, Picasso seemed to step out of his paintings and communicate with me across time and space.”
About 60 authentic Picasso paintings and 130 works by Asian artists from Hong Kong, mainland China, Korea, Japan and India are displayed at the exhibition.
Picasso’s authentic works come from the Musée National Picasso in Paris, and the Asian artworks are mainly from the M+ collection, as well as other museums, foundations and private collections.
“Many people come here for the real Picasso paintings, but less than half of the exhibits are his,” said Charlotte Shen, 20, a university student in architecture.
Shen said the thematic setting and visiting guidelines within the exhibition were not clear and did not follow the threads of Picasso's life story.
“The labels of the real Picasso paintings and Asian artists’ paintings are similar so we are easily confused when standing at a distance,” she added.
Romi Wong, 25, an economics industry practitioner, came to the exhibition out of interest and admiration for Picasso.
“For audiences like me who do not have a deep understanding in art, placing more works by Asian artists may help to understand the cultural differences between the East and the West, so as to better comprehend Picasso's work,” Wong said.
The M+ Museum has also used Picasso's paintings as elements to design one-of-a-kind cultural and creative souvenirs.
The exhibition will be held from Mar. 15 to Jul. 13, and the standard ticket price is HK$240.
《The Young Reporter》
The Young Reporter (TYR) started as a newspaper in 1969. Today, it is published across multiple media platforms and updated constantly to bring the latest news and analyses to its readers.
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