On 25th October 1971, Pablo Picasso enjoyed his 90th birthday. To mark the occasion, a campaign was launched in Madrid and Barcelona in recognition of the artist. However, this celebration was perceived by certain sectors in society as a promotion of the subversion and anti-Francoism associated with the artist, and far-right groups carried out a series of attacks against events held for Picasso. They destroyed the engravings from the series “Suite Vollard”, which the Theo gallery in Madrid was exhibiting in homage to the artist, they attacked bookshops including Antonio Machado, Visor and Cinc d’Oros because they had mounted shop front window displays about the painter, and they committed an arson attack on the Taller de Picasso gallery in Barcelona.
In response to these attacks, especially the fire which destroyed the Taller de Picasso gallery, the young gallery owner Santiago Palet decided to organize a tribute to the painter. Visual artists, musicians, writers, figures from cinema and theatre were all invited to create a work of art on a doily or placemat – a lace cotton base – dedicated to Picasso. All these pieces were gathered together and exhibited a year later in Vallauris, entitled 1er. Rencontre International d’Hommage à Picasso. It became known as a political act of opposition, demonstrating the indignation of the art world at the attacks against the artist, as well as frustration caused by the government’s attitude which made those attacks possible.
This extraordinary collection was acquired by Fundació Vila Casas, which exhibited it for the first time in 2022 in the Espais Volart, curated by Nadia Hernández. A year later the exhibition moves to the Museo Lázaro Galdiano, in Madrid. In late November, we will show a sample of 51 placemat artworks that the curator has selected specially for this occasion. These pieces propose a thematic interpretation to guide the viewer on their visit round the exhibition. Thus, the works by Joan Miró, Joan Brossa, Pablo Neruda and Equipo Crónica, among others, have been chosen to reflect on concepts such as “Interior exile”, “Picasso as a paradigm” and “Censorship, repression and indignation”.
Exhibition curated by Nadia Hernández.
© Equipo Crónica: Sense títol. Homenatge a Picasso. Vallauris, 1972. Fotografia: Pablo Roman
Museo Lázaro Galdiano, Madrid
Join our
