In 1932 Picasso had sex on his mind – a new affair with a young lover. History is not censorious because his art was scintillating. “His private life was complicated … his relationship to surrealism [undecided]; in many ways one feels Picasso was in a moment where he really had to clarify his position, in life as much as in art”. An excellent video (5 min) is here and images here.
After noting that he didn’t sell at auction for as much as Koons, Fischl was told by a collector ‘let’s face it, you didn’t make the cut’! Fischl is widely admired (and collected) for his paintings of striving American suburbs. Why isn’t he more of an auction room star? Perhaps it’s that the optimism of his suburbia no longer quite gels with the country’s present mood.
Getting a retrospective at Tate is a big deal so why the critical hesitation about Jonas? “Complicated viewing … an art of constant interruption, spillage and surprise” says one critic. For another it’s the “grand narrative of dualities … stillness and movement, object and image, ancient and modern.” Perhaps it’s best to just watch this survey video (6 min) and judge for yourself.