Bilbao Guggenheim turns 25 with French avant-garde retrospective
Bilbao, Spain, Feb 10 (EFE).- The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao has brought together 70 masterpieces for retrospective look at early 20th century modern art from France with particular emphasis on female artists.
From Fauvism to Surrealism: Masterpieces from the Musée d’Art Moderne (MAM) de Paris is the first major exhibition this year as the Guggenheim marks its 25th anniversary in the city, located in the Basque region of northern Spain.
MAM director Fabrice Hergott said the show offers a new perspective on the artists’ movements, which were revolutionary in their representation of portraiture, landscapes and use of color.
The exhibit casts a light on Spanish artist María Blanchard, who Hergott described as a talented but “underappreciated” painter, whose almost “punky” style carved out a new vision of cubism.
She encapsulates the strong ties between Spanish artists and France in the 20th century, beyond the likes of Pablo Picasso and Juan Gris, the director added.
The MAM was created in 1937 to house modern and contemporary art in the French capital. The Guggenheim exhibition runs chronologically starting with fauvism and cubism, with works by Henri Matisse, George Braque and Natalia Gontchavora.
The second stage of the exhibition focuses less on movements and gives space to the international artists who gathered in Paris during the interwar period, including Italian creator Amadeo Modigliani, Russian Chana Orloff and Léonard Foujita.
The third section focuses on the surrealist literary and artistic movement with reflections from Freud and works by André Breton, Vera Pagava, Leonor Fini and Enrt, among others.
The exhibition runs from Friday until May 22. EFE
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