The new international exhibition of the MOMus-Modern Art Museum-Costakis Collection titled "Pablo Picasso: Exile and Nostalgia" highlights the long-lasting friendship between Pablo Picasso and Eugenio Arias, an exiled resistance fighter and the famous artist's barber. The exhibition, organized in collaboration with the Museo Casa Natal Picasso in Malaga, will be hosted from July 12 to November 10, 2024, at the Moni Lazariston in Thessaloniki.
The exhibition focuses on the period of the Spanish Civil War and the subsequent years (1936-1952), showcasing drawings, prints, and ceramics from the collections of the Museo Casa Natal Picasso. Many of these works are being exhibited outside of Spain for the first time and are in dialogue with works from the Costakis Collection of Russian Avant-Garde art. The exhibition sheds light on Picasso's artistic and political interventions, as well as his relationship with the French Resistance and the clandestine Communist Party of Spain.
An important part of the exhibition is the correspondence between the two friends, highlighting their close relationship and shared values. The works on display also include significant illustrated books, such as the 1937 "Sueño y mentira de Franco" (The Dream and Lie of Franco), reflecting Picasso's solidarity with the Spanish people and his involvement in the fight against the Spanish dictator.
The exhibition is part of MOMus's international collaboration with the Public Administration Organization of the House-Museum Pablo Ruiz Picasso and other museum institutions in Malaga. Meanwhile, 450 works from the Costakis Collection are exhibited in the major exhibition "Utopia and Avant-Garde. Russian Art in the Costakis Collection" in Malaga.
The exhibition "Pablo Picasso: Exile and Nostalgia" offers a unique opportunity to discover Picasso through the lens of friendship and political activism, illuminating aspects of his life and work that remain unknown to the general public.