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DORA MAAR. BEYOND PICASSO
21 October 2022 @ 18:00 - 27 November 2022 @ 19:00
Beyond Picasso, beyond the stereotypes of the genius’ muse-lover, beyond the Weeping Woman, but also beyond the leading role she played in the Surrealist movement and the extraordinary photographic production of the 30s, to go “beyond” to discover the painter Dora Maar (1907-1997), the artist who chose, in her last forty years, a solitary, almost ascetic life.
After abandoning photography for painting at Picasso’s insistence, and dealing with the breakup of her relationship – with psychologically dramatic consequences – from the late 1950s until her death Dora Maar lived between Paris and Ménerbes, Provence, gradually isolating herself.
During those decades she no longer exhibited, but she continued to paint restlessly. The works on display, mostly mixed media on paper, were created during that period of voluntary confinement.
In that long span of time, Nature is her main source of inspiration. Dora devoted herself almost exclusively to “portraying” landscapes, highlighting their fluidity and lyricism. Little by little, the figuration disappears – or is reduced to a minimum – it turns towards abstraction to leave room for the poetic essence of the subject. Poetry, in fact, is a dimension that accompanied the artist throughout her life, leaving an ever deepening imprint on his creative journey. Once over the border into abstraction, Maar investigates that language, arriving at results that confirm her constant desire to experiment with new forms, to satisfy an insatiable curiosity.
The works on display, somehow, help to capture other fragments of Dora Maar’s artistic evolution, because, being exploratory works, preparatory studies, sketches, they have the strength of spontaneity and immediacy. Going beyond their formal simplicity, one can sense the heart of a personal research that has never been interrupted.
Dora creates, even in small-format works, sensitive worlds in which, perhaps, to find refuge and serenity.
