MADRID, PALACIO DE GAVIRIA
5 October 2018 – 24 February 2019
This coming 5 October Arthemisia opens a new exhibition to
the public at Palacio de Gaviria. On view through 24 February 2019, the first
survey show in Madrid dedicated to Tamara de Lempicka includes a selection of
around 200 works coming from over 40 private collections, museums and lenders
worldwide.
The exhibition in Madrid contextualises Lempicka’s art practice within a carefully designed and immersive mise en scène, in which the artworks are arranged in spaces decorated with recognizable Art Deco objects in such a way that her paintings can be seen alongside furniture, screens, lamps, vases, stained glass, photographs and prints from the period.
Curated by Gioia Mori, a leading expert on Tamara de
Lempicka who has dedicated thirty years to the study of the Polish artist, this
exhibition overviews the life and practice of “The Queen of Art Deco”. The
curator’s in-depth research has helped to throw new light on the breadth of
Lempicka’s art practice and to reconstruct little known aspects of her life.
Tamara de Lempicka was a pioneer in the development of Art
Deco, the most famous
movement of her time, marked by the geometric motifs, bright
colours and forthright forms of the 1920s aesthetic. The roots of this classic,
symmetrical and linear style, which reached its peak between 1925 and 1935, can
be traced back to prior movements like Cubism and Futurism, as well as to the
influence of the Bauhaus. Lempicka was one of its outstanding representatives
in the realm of the visual arts, for which she proved to be a true revolution.
The show, which has aroused a lot of expectation in Spain
since it was first announced by Arthemisia, has already been presented by the
Italian cultural management company in other venues including the Royal Palace
of Milan (2006), the Pinacothèque de Paris (2013), the Palazzo Chiablese in
Turin (2015) and the Palazzo Forti in Verona (2015), where it was highly
acclaimed by public and critics alike.
Tamara de Lempicka. Reina del Art Deco offers a walkthrough
of the artist’s career divided into ten different sections in the various halls
at Palacio de Gaviria. In addition, it is to some extent her return to Spain
after the epic journey the artist undertook eighty-six years ago when her work
had a huge impact on the art scene in Spain of the time.
In summer 1932, the artist travelled extensively throughout
Spain on a journey that took her to Malaga, Seville, Cordoba, Toledo and Madrid,
which was documented in many enthusiastic articles penned by Spanish critics of
the period. Treated like a diva, admired for her clean-cut and refined artistic
language, and described as a paragon of beauty and elegance, in her interviews
Tamara de Lempicka underscored her fascination with El Greco and Goya, whom she
studied diligently on long visits to Spanish museums.
BLOG: LA CASA SE MUEVE
Tamara de Lempicka, la reina del Art Déco, en El Palacio de Gaviria
Tamara de Lempicka (Varsovia, 1898 – México, 1980)
Tamara de Lempicka
L’écharpe bleue
Colección privada. © Tamara Art Heritage
L’écharpe bleue
Colección privada. © Tamara Art Heritage
