Art Review: Picasso: The Mediterranean Years, Gagosian Gallery

I had never heard of the Gagosian Gallery until this exhibition, and it’s not exactly the sort of place you could stumble upon by accident – it’s tucked away down a side street near Kings Cross station, a street so deserted and dilapidated-looking that we were not even confident we were in the right place until we found ourselves right next to the sliding doors of the gallery. It turned out to be a small place of about three or four rooms, with the Picasso exhibition the only thing that was on. The exhibition itself was fantastic. As well as paintings in Picasso’s most recognisable Cubist style there were sketches, pottery, sculpture, posters and paper models. The impression was of someone with a fantastically creative mind, who couldn’t wait to try turning his hand to new mediums. Animals appear to have been a popular subject, with bulls in particular making frequent appearances. One fascinating sequence of sketches begins with a realistic representation of a bull and then simplifies and simplifies it, until nothing is left but a few lines and shapes, which nevertheless still clearly evoke the form of the animal. Most of the pieces are simply bursting with life and personality, and I can think of few exhibitions that I have gone round with such a big smile on my face.

The exhibition continues until 28^th August.