From June 8th to July 24th, the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, in Lisbon, exhibits, with free entry, for the first time the two most recent acquisitions of Paula Rego. In the headquarters building, the institution pays tribute to the artist who received a Gulbenkian scholarship in the 1960s.
To mark the first anniversary of the death of Paula Rego, the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation pays tribute to the artist by exhibiting two of her works. These are the most recent acquisitions to join the collection of the Center for Modern Art (CAM).
From June 8th to July 24th, the works “Anjo” (1998) and “O Banho Turco” (1960) will be on display at the Foundation’s headquarters building. According to Gulbenkian, it is a “way of paying homage to one of the Portuguese artists with the greatest international recognition, who has established a strong relationship with the Foundation since she received a scholarship in the early 1960s”.
The two works were part of the CAM Collection last year, but, due to the ongoing renovation work on the museum space, they have not yet been exposed to the public. Upon acquisition, “Paula Rego expressed his «great happiness» at knowing that two of his most important works «would live at the Gulbenkian»”, informs the statement.
Overall, the Gulbenkian is today the “private institution with the largest and most significant set of works by the artist, bringing together 37 pieces including painting, drawing and engraving”. Some of these works can now be seen in the exhibition “Modern and Contemporary Art at CAM” which is at the Foundation's Main Gallery until September 18th.
One of these works, the painting Retrato de Grimau (1964), was “one of the first acquisitions for the CAM Collection”, in 1965, explains Gulbenkian, who also shows in this exhibition the triptych Vanitas, commissioned from Paula Rego during the celebrations of Gulbenkian's 50th anniversary.
The two most recent acquisitions, “Anjo” and “O Banho Turco” will be on display in the Foundation’s main atrium. “The iconic painting Angel is of enormous importance in the context of the artistic production of Paula Rego, synthesizing his entire artistic program” says Gulbenkian.
“The painter herself confessed that it was the work she would like to take with her on her last trip. Not explicitly a self-portrait, this work is, in the words of curator Helena de Freitas, 'a strong and radiant image that identifies with the interventionist meaning of the artist's work: between the sword and the sponge, protection and revenge, the punishment and forgiveness'”, the statement reads.
The work “The Turkish Bath” has on the back of the canvas a nude of Paula Rego, created by her husband, also an artist, Victor Willing, explains to Gulbenkian who adds that it is a piece that “makes a subtle, very personal but assertive connection to one of the themes that today shakes the world of arts, feminism and the representation of women”.