Artists: Leonardo da Vinci, Francisco de Goya, James Ensor, Paul Klee, Pablo Picasso, Francis Bacon...
What is the grotesque in art? At times it has been described as the exaggerated, on occasion compared to the deformed, and at others to the satirical or even the incongruous. Museo Picasso Málaga takes a close look at the subject in The Grotesque Factor, an exhibition that examines the meaning and evolution of this category of aesthetics at various points in Western art history.
Leonardo da Vinci, Francisco de Goya, James Ensor, Paul Klee, Pablo Picasso, Otto Dix, Willem de Kooning and Francis Bacon are just a few of the almost 80 international artists who created the more than 250 works brought together for the occasion. The works are technically and formally diverse and are seen on display together here for the first time. They share with one another an element of the grotesque, which has been defined in this exhibition as an artist’s view of the world, a mindset that has been expressed in very different ways over the years.
The exhibition is curated by José Lebrero Stals, artistic director of MPM. The academic advisor is Luis Puelles, professor of Aesthetics and Art Theory at the University of Malaga. This project will be possible thanks to the loans and generosity of private collections and art galleries, and the close involvement of museums in Europe and America.
‘The Grotesque Factor’ Museo Picasso Málaga, Spain 22nd October 2012-10th February 2013 http://www2.museopicassomalaga.org/
