Tuesday, May 1, 2012

The Picasso's of Tomorrow

Visitors may find this article of interest, it's short and to the point.  It published with Visual Overture Magazine last year and is here now for your consideration. 

Thinking back to the early days, at the turn of the last century, thinking of Pablo Picasso and how the salons in Paris would not show his work, I thought I'd muse a while. 

The Paris salons were loaded with the work of artists who did not excel Picasso in any way.  However, it was simply a matter of time, for Picasso to emerge as a giant from the shadow of a fully fledged obscurity.  The brief article that follows is offered up for your consideration.  I believe it is timely. 

As the global world of art undergoes many, immense changes at this time, the wise art dealer, collector and artist knows that authentic talent can and will emerge from unseen quarters as it did then, one hundred years ago.  It is in every one's interest to see and advance artists of caliber going forward.
 
Why was Pablo Picasso's art so unacceptable that the salons would not show his work and, finally, how fortunate would those dealers and galleries have been had they seen the future that was right before them when Picasso's work was first emerging?

It is a puzzling enigma, but somewhere in the asking is the answer. The constructs at that time and, at this time to a certain extent as well, are similar in many ways. The structures of influence, galleries, dealers, curators and the like in the early 20th century - those agents of art failed themselves miserably.

It is in fact the reason so much of Pablo Picasso's early and most influential work are in the private collections and museums of
Russia. The Russians saw the value and the genius and as it is; they have what considered by many to be the lion's share of Picasso's work.

The salon keepers of Picasso's day, one hundred years ago, just did not see the future. Yet, it is the job of collectors and dealers and museums to see the future now; otherwise, we will lose the finest that our living artists today have to offer. It goes beyond "blue chipism" or whatever the jargon of our day offers, it goes to the core of value and vision and an art history that allows for the brightest artists to be seen, collected, exhibited and appreciated going forward.

It is those visionary art collectors and dealers who deserve the credit for seeing genius as it presents itself, and not industry market analysis, statistics of what art sales are like, auction records, and such.

Picasso's first dealer, Ambroise Vollard saw it rightly. He saw the brilliance of the moment and future of a world class master artist who would dominate a century and beyond. A giant in the world of art, Pablo Picasso, the artist who changed the world of culture and art forever.

"In 1901, Ambroise Vollard's gallery hosted Pablo Picasso's first
Paris exhibition..."

What of today's emerging artists will your gallery have the immense pleasure of being the first to host?

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