Picasso Ceramics

The MMCA collection exhibition Picasso Ceramics explores the work of Pablo Picasso (1881–1973) as a ceramicist by presenting 107 of his ceramic pieces. They were selected from the museum’s Lee Kun-hee Collection, which is comprised of works donated by the late Samsung Group chairman’s estate in 2021.

Known as a pioneer of Cubism and a genius within modern art, Picasso was a passionate artist who refused to settle down within a single media and worked across diverse genres. Along with painting, his oeuvre includes sculpture, printmaking, ceramics, and theater design.

Ceramics was a new challenge Picasso took up in his later years while still at the peak of his painting career. He grew fascinated with the production processes involved and created a vast number of works. This exhibition traces these works in clay and the artistic spirit to be found within it, which first bloomed in the southern French city of Vallauris in 1946 when he took up the art form in earnest. It is hoped that the exhibition will offer visitors a chance to help fulfill Picasso’s wish that greater numbers of people would be able to enjoy his art through ceramics and appreciate the broad spectrum of his work.