From Africa to the Americas: Face-to-face Picasso, Past and Present

A new exhibition at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts promises to explore the place of so-called "primitive" art in our understanding of art. Much of the exhibit will look at how African art influenced Picasso and other icons of Modernism.

"Over the last century, the relationship between the West and the arts referred to as 'primitive,' – artificially grouping together the arts of Africa, Oceania and the Americas – has undergone a profound upheaval. No longer viewed as ethnographic curiosities, these objects are now valued as fine art, encompassing a range of styles, histories and cultures. How have ethnographic objects come to be viewed as art? How do we reconcile these two approaches today? From Africa to the Americas: Face-to-Face Picasso, Past and Present explores these questions by unfurling the chronological threads of the life of Picasso (1881-1973) in parallel with art history, increasing the points of view on the history of Modernism. 

The show runs May 12 - September 16, 2018, with May 10 and 11 available to VIP visitors only.