Paris’s Picasso Museum Will Host Two Special Exhibitions to Celebrate the Artist’s Legacy

On April 8, 2023, it will mark 50 years since Pablo Picasso passed away from heart failure in his French residence. Over his 80-year career as a painter, sculptor, ceramicist, and printmaker, Picasso transformed the art world multiple times, reinventing himself with movements like his Blue Period, cubism, and surrealism.

In 2023, the Musée National Picasso-Paris, in collaboration with Bernard Picasso, Pablo Picasso's grandson and president of the Picasso Museum Málaga, will lead a year-long celebration honoring Picasso’s life, featuring 50 exhibitions and events across museums in Barcelona, Madrid, Málaga, Paris, and other cities in Europe and North America. The celebration kicked off with a press conference in September 2022 in front of Picasso’s Guernica (1937) at Madrid’s Museo Reina Sofía and will culminate in a major international symposium in fall 2023. The Musée National Picasso-Paris, which holds the largest collection of Picassos in France (approximately 5,000 pieces), will present two special exhibitions next year: Picasso Celebration: The Collection in a New Light and Faith Ringgold.

For the Picasso Celebration (March 7–August 27), the Musée National Picasso-Paris has invited British luxury designer Sir Paul Smith to take on the role of artistic director. Sharing Picasso’s passion for whimsical objects and creativity, Smith aims to present Picasso’s work through a modern perspective, emphasizing its enduring significance. The exhibit will also feature works by contemporary artists influenced by Picasso, such as Argentinian painter Guillermo Kuitca and Nigerian multimedia artist Obi Okigbo.

One contemporary artist is set to have a solo exhibition. Running from January 31 to July 2, 2023, the exhibition titled Faith Ringgold showcases her “French Collection”—a series of 12 quilts inspired by a trip to France in 1961 with her mother and two daughters. Known for the vivid colors and storytelling in her painted quilts, rooted in the African American tradition, Ringgold regards Picasso as one of her greatest influences. Their works are displayed together at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. Ringgold’s French Collection features her alter ego, Willia Marie Simone, who frequently appears in her art. The series delves into her experiences as a Black American woman and mother aspiring to be an artist while also paying tribute to the European artists who inspired her, offering a constructive critique of their legacies.

Admission to the Musée National Picasso-Paris costs $15.