Francis Picabia

Amongthegreatmodernartistsofthepastcentury,Picabiaisoneofthemostelusive,givenhisextremeeclecticismandpersistentactsofself-contradiction.ThoughknownasaDadaist,Picabia’songoingstylisticshifts,fromImpressionismtoradicalabstraction,frommechanicalimagerytopseudo-classicism,andfromphoto-basedrealismtoartinformelremaintobeassessedindepth.Similarly,thebreadthofhispractice,whichencompassedpoetry,filmandperformanceisunder-recognized.Eachmakeshimafigurerelevantforcontemporaryartists,whilethecareerasawholechallengesfamiliarnarrativesofmodernism.FrancisPicabiapresentsover100paintings,complementedbyworksonpaper,publications,andfilm.Featuringsome500illustrationsand14essays,itexaminesthefullrangeofPicabia’soeuvre.Authorsincludingtheexhibitioncurators,AnneUmlandandCathérineHug,distinguishedprofessorsGeorgeBaker,BrionyFer,andDavidJoselit,andrenownedPicabiascholarsCaroleBoulbèsandArnauldPierrediscussavariedseriesoftopics,includingthecorporealcharacterofPicabia’sabstractions,hisunexpectedturntomechanicalpainting,hisexperimentswithmaterialsandsourceimagery,theproblemsofhispolitics,andhiscontemporarylegacy.ArichlyillustratedchronologydetailstheexpandednatureofPicabia’svisualproduction–frompresspolemicstopartyorganizing.