Picasso exhibition @ The Art Gallery of NSW

At school I was, frankly, abysmal at art. The only thing I ever drew that I was remotely proud of, was one of Picasso's cubist paintings. It is the best thing I've ever drawn.

The exhibition at the Art Gallery of NSW was larger than I expected. There were ten rooms filled with drawings, paintings and sculptures. Each room was divided into a different period of Picasso's artistic life. To my untrained eye I thought there was overlap between the rooms and the styles weren't quite as distinct as the guide book made out.

I associate Picasso most strongly with cubism. There weren't as many of his brightly coloured cubist paintings  as I would have liked. However the Portrait of Dora Maar (above) was truly stunning. The colours were incredibly vibrant and something you don't experience when you look at a reproduction of the image.

I was a big fan of the bronze sculptures too. I was so busy concentrating on the walls that I nearly missed some of the bronzes sitting on the floor.

It's likely to be the largest collection of Picasso paintings seen in Australia for a good many years. I'd recommend checking it out before the exhibition ends on 25th March.