Landmark exhibition marks the 50^th anniversary of the artist’s legacy

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CINCINNATI — April 17, 2023 — The Cincinnati Art Museum will celebrate Pablo Picasso’s legacy with an unprecedented exhibition, the first to explore his prolific engagement with landscape over his 75-year career. Picasso Landscapes: Out of Bounds features paintings and sculptures by the artist from some 25 public and private collections across the United States and Europe. It will run June 23–October 15, 2023. This exhibition is organized by the American Federation of Arts with guest curator Laurence Madeline and the exceptional support of the Musée national Picasso-Paris.

Pablo Picasso (1881–1973) used landscape throughout his life to establish himself in new surroundings and to push forward into new styles of painting and sculpture. The exhibition, featuring more than 40 paintings, is the first project to explore the breadth of the artist’s lifelong work within the landscape tradition. It traces the elemental role of place, environment and interface between humanity and the natural world in Picasso’s art. Through representations of landscape, Picasso advanced dialogues with key artists of previous centuries, from Nicolas Poussin to Paul Cézanne, embedding himself within the European painting tradition, while insisting on a status apart.

The Cincinnati Art Museum will be only the second venue to host the exhibition. It previously appeared at The Mint Museum in Charlotte, North Carolina.

“It is an extraordinary thing to be able to show an artist as renowned as Pablo Picasso in a wholly new light,” says Peter Jonathan Bell, PhD, the museum’s curator of European paintings, sculpture and drawings, who is leading the exhibition’s presentation in Cincinnati. “His mastery of the human form and of still life is unquestioned. With the works assembled for this exhibition, we are finally able to appreciate how significant landscape was for Picasso throughout his life, and in turn how consequential Picasso was for landscape painting—how he was able to transform this venerable genre to meet his needs as an innovator and expressive interpreter, reshaping the world around him through his art.”  

Picasso Landscapes: Out of Bounds is part of “Picasso Celebration 1973–2023,” linking over 50 exhibitions and events at renowned cultural institutions across Europe and North America to coincide with the 50^th anniversary of the artist’s death.

The accompanying catalogue is edited by Laurence Madeline with essays by Peter Jonathan Bell and philosopher Jacques Rancière. The publication celebrates the depth of Picasso’s exploration of landscape subjects along with his expansive approach to the genre. It will be available soon for purchase from the museum shop, in person and online.

Tickets are $18, with discounted rates for students, children and seniors, and can be purchased onsite and online. Admission is free for members. The exhibition is free for nonmembers every Thursday evening from 5–8 p.m. as well as its opening weekend, June 23–25. The free opening weekend is made possible by Duke Energy.

Photography is permitted, but no flash.

The exhibition is generously supported by Monique Schoen Warshaw. Additional support has been provided by Betsy S. Barbanell, Lee White Galvis, Clare E. McKeon and Stephanie R. La Nasa. Support for the accompanying publication is provided by Furthermore: a program of the J.M. Kaplan Fund. At the Cincinnati Art Museum, the exhibition is presented by Duke Energy. It is organized by the Harold C. Schott Foundation with generous support from the Carol Ann and Ralph V. Haile, Jr. Foundation, Western & Southern Financial Group, Fort Washington Investment Advisors, the Tourist Office of Spain in Chicago and the Wohlgemuth Herschede Foundation.

Related events:

Members Opening, 5–7 p.m., Thursday, June 22, Cincinnati Art Museum
Museum members are invited to view the exhibition before it opens to the public and enjoy light bites and a cash bar in the Fountain Room (Gallery 126). Free.

Lecture: Picasso. Landscape. Revolution. Laurence Madeline, Chief Curator for French National Heritage, 7–8 p.m., Thursday, June 22, Cincinnati Art Museum
Details to be announced. Tickets will be available on the museum’s website.

CAM Catalysts present A Happening, 6–10 p.m., Friday, June 23, Cincinnati Art Museum
Kick off the summer with this “can’t miss” event and be one of the first to see the exhibition. It will feature live music and inspiring food and drink creations. Guests must be 21+ to attend. Tickets will be available on the museum’s website. 

Free opening weekend presented by Duke Energy, Friday–Sunday, June 23–25, Cincinnati Art Museum

Art Together: Artmaking for Families with Children Ages 3-5, 11:15 a.m.–12:15 p.m., Saturday, July 8, Cincinnati Art Museum
Create together with your little one in this hands-on art studio designed for early artists. Tickets will be available on the museum’s website.

Family Studio: Artmaking for Families with Children Ages 6-12, 1–2 p.m., Saturday, July 8, Cincinnati Art Museum
Learn artmaking techniques to create a unique work of art. Tickets will be available on the museum’s website.

See the Story Book Club: Cooking with Picasso by Camille Aubray, 11:30 a.m., Saturday, July 15, Cincinnati Art Museum
Do you love to read? Love art? Join librarians from the Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library and museum staff for this bi-monthly book club. Free.

Art After Dark, 5–9 p.m., Friday, July 28, Cincinnati Art Museum
This month’s event will celebrate the exhibition and feature live music, food and drinks for purchase. Free.

Choose Your Own Gallery Adventure: You Are a Millionaire, 1 p.m., Saturday, August 12, Cincinnati Art Museum
Will you end up owning a piece of art or lose it all and be left with a bill? Make your way through the galleries on this tour based on the Choose Your Own Adventure book series. Free.

Create Plus: An Afternoon of Landscapes, 1–4 p.m., Saturday, September 9, Cincinnati Art Museum
Enjoy a gallery talk, nature walk and art making activities. Tickets will be available on the museum’s website.

Writing Workshop: Responding to Picasso’s Landscapes, 1–3 p.m., Saturday, September 30, Cincinnati Art Museum
Join facilitators from our partners at Women Writing for (a) Change to discover landscapes then write your reflections through a directed prompt. Tickets will be available through Women Writing for (a) Change.

Schedule subject to change. Visit cincinnatiartmuseum.org for the latest information.

About the Cincinnati Art Museum

The Cincinnati Art Museum is supported by the generosity of individuals and businesses that give annually to ArtsWave. The Ohio Arts Council helps fund the Cincinnati Art Museum with state tax dollars to encourage economic growth, educational excellence and cultural enrichment for all Ohioans. The Cincinnati Art Museum gratefully acknowledges operating support from the City of Cincinnati, as well as our members.

Free general admission to the Cincinnati Art Museum is made possible by a gift from the Rosenthal Family Foundation. Exhibition pricing may vary. Parking at the Cincinnati Art Museum is free. cincinnatiartmusem.org

About The American Federation of Arts

The American Federation of Arts is the leader in traveling exhibitions internationally. A nonprofit organization founded in 1909, the AFA is dedicated to enriching the public’s experience and understanding of the visual arts through organizing and touring art exhibitions for presentation in museums around the world, publishing exhibition catalogues featuring important scholarly research, and developing educational programs.

About Picasso Celebration 1973–2023

April 8, 2023 will mark the 50th anniversary of the death of the Spanish artist Pablo Picasso and thus the year will represent the celebration of his work and his artistic legacy in France, Spain and internationally. The commemoration, accompanied by official celebrations in France and Spain, will make it possible to take stock of the research and interpretations of the artist’s work, especially during an important international symposium in autumn 2023, which also coincides with the opening of the Center for Picasso Studies in Paris. The Musée national Picasso-Paris and the Spanish National Commission for the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the death of Pablo Picasso are pleased to support this exceptional program.

#PicassoCelebration

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