Picasso, Dalí and Miró prints shown at 'Charm of Plurality'

Pablo Picasso’s spontaneous lines, Salvador Dalí’s surreal imagination, Zao Wou-Ki’s abstract landscapes, and other masterpieces are now on display at “The Charm of Plurality — International Print Exhibition” at the Guan Shanyue Art Museum.

Co-organized by the museum and the Guanlan Original Printmaking Base, the exhibition brings together 156 print works from 17 countries and regions, covering relief, intaglio, planographic, and stencil printing, as well as mixed techniques.

The first section, “Echoes of the Classics,” presents original prints by modern masters including Picasso, Joan Miró, Dalí, Zao, Andy Warhol, and Alphonse Mucha.

Mucha’s works created in 1957 are on display. Photos by Cao Zhen unless otherwise stated

Visitors admire Andy Warhol’s “Flowers” (1964). Photo from the organizers

One highlight is Picasso’s “La Célestine en Action: Le Pigeon,” a copperplate etching from his “Séries 347.” With concise yet expressive lines, the work defines the figures while revealing the artist’s free and uninhibited approach to late-period printmaking.

Another Picasso work, “1952 Exposition Vallauris,” is a poster created for a ceramics fair in southern France. It reflects the fusion of postwar modern art and local culture.

Picasso’s “1952 Exposition Vallauris.” Photo from the organizers

Miró’s “Work No. 2.” Photo from the organizers

Miró’s “Work No. 2” creates a lively rhythm through vivid colors and abstract symbols. Dalí’s “Paradise” continues the visual language of Surrealism, while Warhol’s “Flowers” blurs the boundary between art and popular culture. Zao’s “Four Seasons” series combines the spirit of Chinese calligraphy with the language of Western abstract painting.

A rare highlight is “Selected Prints by Käthe Kollwitz” (1936). Limited to 103 copies, the collection was selected and arranged by Lu Xun, who also wrote its preface. It introduced Kollwitz’s compassionate yet defiant realist art to China and had a profound influence on the Chinese woodcut movement.

Works from “Selected Prints by Käthe Kollwitz” (1936).

“Winter” and “Autumn” created by Zao Wou-Ki in 2000.

Prints created by Bernard Buffet in the 1960s.

The second section, “Oriental Charm,” focuses on printmaking in Asia and traces its transformation from tradition to modernity. It features “Ten Bamboo Studio Letter Papers,” a masterpiece of color woodblock printing from the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). Its woodblock color-separation and overprinting techniques inspired the multicolor printing methods used in Japanese ukiyo-e. Visitors can also view a wide selection of modern Japanese prints in this section.

The third section, “Conceptual Turn,” explores contemporary printmaking through recent works by artists from China and abroad. Some of the works were created by artists participating in the Guanlan Original Printmaking Base’s international artist residency program.

“High Above the Hakka Houses” created by Rhi Moxon in 2019. Photo from the organizers

“Cat” created by Kayama Matazo in 1965. Photo from the organizers

Drawing on the academic foundations of the Guan Shanyue Art Museum and the Guanlan Original Printmaking Base in print research and collecting, as well as nearly two decades of international exchanges, the exhibition offers a systematic overview of a century of printmaking in China and around the world. 

It highlights the diverse paths of cultural exchange and independent artistic development and offers a glimpse into the boundless possibilities of art through the medium of printmaking.

A visitor makes a print at the exhibition’s activity zone.

A glance at the exhibition. Photo from the organizers

Dates: Through Oct. 7 

Venue: Guan Shanyue Art Museum, Futian District (深圳关山月美术馆)

Metro: Line 3 or 4 to Children’s Palace Station (少年宫站), Exit F