“Picasso Sculptor. Matter and Body” is the first major exhibition in Spain devoted to this facet of Picasso’s work. The selection of pieces is intended to underline the central role played by the representation of the human body, taken as both a whole and as a fragment, in the Málaga-born artist’s œuvre.
Like the rest of his artistic production, Picasso’s sculptures are notable for their innovation and use of unorthodox techniques and materials. Between modelling and construction, either in welded iron, wood or sheet metal, incorporating the void as a new element that was crucial to modern sculpture.
Picasso’s interrelation of the various artistic disciplines can be seen in the Cubist principles of his paintings, which he translated into three dimensions in his sculptures, and in his use of found materials to create three-dimensional works, as in his collages. Drawings and two-dimensional planes of cut-out paper were transformed into sheets of metal that were folded to increase their volume. Cut and folded sheet metal was the last material that defined Picasso’s sculptural output. Translated into concrete or Corten steel, it gave rise to monumental works on an architectural scale.
