Witness Picasso’s genius in new and thought-provoking ways at the Cleveland Museum of Art’s latest exhibit.
A new exhibition at the Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) offers visitors the opportunity to see Picasso and his work in an entirely new light. Picasso and Paper features nearly 300 works showcasing Picasso’s lifelong experimentation with paper, opening with cut-outs he made at the age of nine and proceeding chronologically to span his almost eight-decade career. From expressive prints and drawings to large-scale collages, this collection demonstrates Picasso’s capacity for innovation and reinvention using an endlessly versatile material like paper.
Organized by the CMA and the Royal Academy of Arts, London, in partnership with the Musée national Picasso-Paris, the exhibition shows some of Picasso’s celebrated paintings and bronze sculptures alongside his paper creations—including La Vie (1903) from the Blue Period, featured with preparatory drawings and other works on paper that explore similar themes, and the bronze sculpture, Head of a Woman (Fernande) (1909), surrounded by a collection of related drawings.
“To create the innovative works for which he is remembered today, Picasso returned again and again to paper, ultimately producing thousands of prints and drawings,” said Britany Salsbury, CMA curator of prints and drawings, in a press release. “We’re excited to be able to feature these works alongside experimental paper cut-outs, Cubist collages, and even torn and burned shapes created for his closest friends. Together, the artworks in Picasso and Paper offer an opportunity to see the artist at his most radical. They also allow us to better understand the collaborative relationships—with printers, publishers, dealers, models, and partners—that contributed to his canonical reputation.”
Fascinated with different types of paper, Picasso incorporated unusual materials like newspapers and mass-produced wallpapers into his paper artworks. One of the many highlights of this exhibition, Women at Their Toilette, is a large-scale collage (over 9×14 ft.) comprised of a wide variety of cut-and-pasted papers, exhibited for the first time in the U.S. Other highlights include rarely seen Cubist collages, Picasso’s private sketchbooks, and constructed paper guitars from the artist’s Cubist and Surrealist periods.
“Paper offered Picasso an intimate space in which he could not only respond to events in his personal life and in the world around him, but also carry out formal experimentation,” said Salsbury in a press release. “Picasso and Paper traces some of the most significant shifts in modern art through his practice and features rarely seen artworks from the most internationally significant holdings of his work.”
Event details:
When: Dec. 8, 2024-Mar. 23, 2025
Where: Cleveland Museum of Art, The Kelvin and Eleanor Smith Foundation Exhibition Hall and Gallery
Member Preview Days
CMA members can view Picasso and Paper FIRST and for FREE on Member Preview Days: *Friday, December 5, from 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.
*Saturday, December 6, from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
*Sunday, December 7, from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Ticket Pricing
Adults, $22; seniors and groups, $15; member guests, students, and children ages 6-17, $11; children ages 5 and under and CMA members, free.
The CMA recommends reserving tickets through its online platform by visiting the exhibition webpage. Tickets can also be reserved by phone at (216) 421-7350 or on-site at one of the ticket desks.
