Travel Maestro

Guernica

Pablo Picasso was a genius of an artist who constantly reinvented himself over his long and prolific career. He refused to be limited to any particular genre or medium and often moved from one style to another throughout the years. The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA) in Richmond, Virginia is the exclusive east coast venue presenting a major exhibition of 176 important paintings, sculptures, collages, drawings, watercolors and prints in Picasso: Masterpieces from the Musée National Picasso, Paris. The exhibition, on display through May 15, 2011, includes works from each major period of the artist’s life, showing the full range of his incomparable talents.

Self portrait

Born in Malaga, Spain in 1881, he found his vocation early and never stopped creating until his death at 92 years old. He spent much of his life in France, befriending many other artists and writers of the era. He was inspired by and contributed to a wide range of artistic styles, including classicism, surrealism and African Art, but is widely known for his co-creation of the cubism movement. “Cubism focused on fragmentation, shifting planes, and skewed perspectives,” explains John B. Ravenal, VMFA Sydney and Frances Lewis Family Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art.

Modern art enthusiasts should not miss the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to take in this exceptional and exclusive exhibition. It spans every major artistic period of Picasso’s innovative career and showcases the depth and breadth of his revolutionary genius.

The VMFA is a world-class museum with a treasure trove of permanent collections and traveling exhibitions. Some other not-to-be-missed current and upcoming exhibits at VMFA include:

• Dynasty and Divinity: Ife Art in Ancient Nigeria, through May 22, 2011
• Civil War Drawings from the Becker Collection, through April 3 2011
• Faberge Revealed, July 9 – October 2, 2011
• Mummy: Secrets of the Tomb, November 19, 2011 – March 11, 2012
• Elvis at 21, December 24, 2011 – March 18, 2012

If you are a visitor to the Richmond area, give yourself the gift of a visit to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. If you live nearby or visit often, consider a membership to the Museum so you can return time and time again to feed your hunger for the aesthetic.