PAULA REGO: THE STORY OF STORIES AT
PERA MUSEUM
The pleasure of toppling authority
December 23, 2022 – April 30, 2023
Pera Museum now hosts the
works of a unique artist who redefined figurative art. The exhibition Paula
Rego: The Story of Stories introduces art enthusiasts in Istanbul to
Rego's paintings with an unprecedented selection. Rego, who passed away at the
age of 87 last June, held her last exhibition as part of a retrospective at
Tate Britain showcasing her works from all the phases of her artistic practice.
The works of Paula Rego, who was born in Portugal, studied art in London, and
made a name for herself among the most significant European artists, were also
featured in this year's Venice Biennale.
Immediately following
the Tate Britain retrospective and the
Venice Biennale, the works of Paula Rego now await their visitors
at the Suna and İnan Kıraç Foundation Pera Museum in Istanbul. Curating paintings that blend
innocence and experience with elusive messages and narratives, the exhibition entitled Paula
Rego:The Story of Stories welcomes its audience
to a magical space.Curated by Alistair Hicks, the exhibition
includes the artist's oil, pastel, charcoal and acrylic paintings and
installations. Offering a selection of Rego's early works from the 1960s that
focus on both personal and social struggle, her large-scale paintings depicting
single figures she created in the 1990s with striking narratives, and works
consisting of layered scenes she produced after 2000, the exhibition will run until
April 30, 2023.
A revolutionary with
unlimited imagination
The exhibition’s title is
an inspiration from the name of a museum in Cascais that is located along the
coasts of Lisbon and that is home to Rego’s works: “House of Stories".
Curator of the exhibition Alistair Hicks says, “Rego herself is a
little house of stories,” and adds: “Rego's story begins with a girl born in a
fascist state run by men. As a young woman, she was educated in the most
arrogant and traditional art school in Britain. At an early age, she learned
about authority and the pleasure of toppling it within the confines of her own
world.”
An uncompromising
Portuguese artist with an extraordinary imagination, Paula Rego revolutionized
the way women were represented with her works, most of which highlight her
personal nature, the socio-political context she feeds on and various themes
such as oppression, authority and institutional violence.
Curator Alistair Hicks
recalls a critic describing the artist’s first exhibition in Galeria de Arte
Moderna in Lisbon as “animalistic, wicked, and amazingly shocking” and says,
“Rego's work captures the repulsive relationship between sexuality and power
with pinpoint accuracy.”
When Paula Rego was born,
Portugal was ruled by dictator Salazar. This did not change for the 35 years of
Rego’s life, and it had a significant impact on Rego and her Republican family.
In one of her interviews, Rego said, “My favorite themes are power games and
hierarchies” and added: I always want to turn things on their heads, to upset
the established order, to change heroines and idiots. If the story is ‘given’,
I take liberties with it to make it conform to my own experiences, and to be
outrageous. At the same time as loving the stories I want to undermine them,
like wanting to harm the person you love”
Alistair Hicks highlights
the importance of Rego's reintroducing stories into the mainstream of art,
interpreting it as "a pivotal feminist contribution”: “In 1952 when she
was the youngest student at the Slade, Rego was only allowed to depict stories
that were strictly forbidden by school rules, because her teachers thought that
she was a 'stupid girl' and that only male students would produce serious
work.”
This approach is a
reflection of the prejudice against women in the world of arts and women in
general. In most cultures in the early age, women were considered to be
guardians of stories. It was their duty to pass stories down, and women's
stories had long been dismissed as "gossip." Hicks says, “Banning
stories was just one of the many ways men tried to prevent gender-equal
artistic competition. Every story told and retold helps to prove how rich the
world is when we deviate from the preordained paths. Rego may have been ordered
to ‘Sit down!’ But nothing could control Rego's mind and the pen that followed
it’s command.”
Since her childhood,
Paula had grown with the stories told to her by the women around her,
especially her grandmother and her aunt. As the exhibition curator Alistair
Hicks puts it, she was fed by a sea of stories, and stories poured out from her
paintings.
Hicks describes the
atmosphere prevalent at Slade, University
College London's art school, at the time Paula Rego enrolled as a young
student at the age of 17. “The fifties had a complicated relationship with
stories, as there was a shift from the doctrine of ‘art for art’s sake’, from
art’s obsession with absolute beauty, towards the ‘aesthetics of meaning’.
Stories have long been a useful tool for depicting meaning. Francis Bacon saw
it too, but due to the bigotry of his time, sought the greater magnificence of
Greek myth. Rego reasserted the painting’s role of deception and
narration, making an important contribution to feminism.”
Although Paula Rego
described herself as a “kind of an old-fashioned feminist,” Alistair Hicks
disagrees: “She was a modern, open-minded feminist with an endless supply of
startling, conflicting stories. She opened up in the 1980s and learned to use
her own weaknesses, fantasies, and frustrations. She walked on a path that took
her to face depression and abortion.”
In the early 2000s, a
series of paintings by Rego dealing with the issue of abortion was associated
with the Portuguese referendum to legalize abortion. The paintings were used
effectively in the campaign, which eventually led to the amendment of the law.
The then-president of Portugal described the impact of Rego’s paintings on the
result: “It was a great way of showing that we cannot keep this kind of
thing.”
Supported by the British
Consulate General in Istanbul, British Council, Embassy of Portugal in Ankara
and the Camões Institute, the exhibition includes a selection from Rego's
family and personal collections, as well as important art institutions like the
British Council Arts Collection, Gulbenkian Foundation Collection, Casa Das
Historias Collection, Ostrich Arts Ltd, Victoria Miro Gallery Collection and
Leeds City Art Gallery.
Featuring an exhibition
and catalogue design by PATTU, the Paula Rego: The Story of Stories
exhibition will be on display at the fourth and fifth floor
exhibition halls of the Pera Museum until April 30, 2023.
PREGNANT
RABBIT TELLING HER PARENTS, 1981-2
Acrylic on Paper
Dimensions: 101
x 137 cm
Private
Collection
RED MONKEY OFFERS BEAR A POISONED DOVE, 1981
Acrylic
on Paper,
Dimensions: 69 x 101 cm
Courtesy
of Ostrich Arts Ltd. & Victoria Miro
Private
Collection
RED MONKEY BEATS HIS WIFE, 1981
Acrylic
on Paper,
Dimensions: 65 x 105 cm
Ostrich
Arts Ltd. Collection
Courtesy
of Ostrich Arts Ltd. & Victoria Miro
THE BRIDE, 1985
Acrylic
on Canvas,
Dimensions: 220 x 200 cm
Private
Collection
PARADISE,
1985
Acrylic on Canvas
Dimensions: 220
x 200 cm
Private
Collection
ON THE BEACH,
1985
Acrylic on Canvas
Dimensions: 179,2
x 242,5 cm
Private
Collection on deposit at Fundação D. Luís I / Casa das Historias Paula Rego
Photograph: ©
Carlos Pombo
CARMEN
MIRANDA, 1985
Acrylic on Paper Mounted
on Canvas,
Dimensions: 121 x 151 cm
Private Collection
THE VIVIAN
GIRLS IN TUNISIA, 1984
Acrylic on
Paper on Canvas
Dimensions: 250
x 181.5 cm
Ostrich Arts
Ltd. Collection
Courtesy of
Ostrich Arts Ltd. & Victoria Miro
BATTLE OF
ALCACER – QUIBIR, 1966
Wool, Silk,
Cotton and Various Tissues on Linen
Dimensions: 250
x 650 cm
Courtesy of
Cãmara Municipal de Cascais / Fundação D. Luís I,Casa das Histórias,
Paula Rego
Collection | Photograph: © Carlos Pombo
AIDA, 1983
Acrylic on Paper
Dimensions: 240
x 203 cm
Ostrich Arts
Ltd. Collection
Courtesy of
Ostrich Arts Ltd. & Victoria Miro
THE ARTIST IN HER STUDIO, 1993
Acrylic
on Canvas,
Dimensions: 180 x 130 cm
Leeds
Museums and Galleries Collection
Bought
with Support From The Art Fund, the V&A
Purchase
Grant Fund and the Leeds Art Fund, 1994
ABOUT
PERA MUSEUM
Inaugurated on 8 June
2005, Pera Museum is a private museum founded by the Suna and İnan Kıraç
Foundation. The aim of offering an outstanding range of diverse high quality
culture and art services is as important today as when the Museum first opened
its doors to the public.
Couched in
the historic quarter of Tepebaşı, the impressive building was originally
conceived as the Bristol Hotel, designed by architect Achille Manoussos.
Restorer and architect Sinan Genim was given the daunting renovation operation
in 2003; the triumph of transforming the interior into a modern and fully
equipped museum is only matched by the architect’s mastery in simultaneously
preserving the exterior façade, safeguarding an integral part of Istanbul’s
architectural flavour.
Through Suna
and İnan Kıraç Foundation's three permanent collections, “Orientalist
Paintings”, “Anatolian Weights and Measures”, and “Kütahya Tiles and Ceramics”,
Pera Museum seeks not only to diffuse the aesthetic beauty of these collections
but also to create a dialogue with the public concerning the values and
identities they encompass. Utilizing a full scope of innovative methods,
including exhibitions, publications, audio-visual events, learning activities,
and academic works, the objective of transmitting the beauty and importance of
these works to future generations is realised. Having organized joint projects
with leading international museums, collections, and foundations including Tate
Britain, Victoria and Albert Museum, St. Petersburg Russian State Museum, JP
Morgan Chase Collection, New York School of Visual Arts, and the Maeght
Foundation, Pera Museum has introduced Turkish audiences to countless
internationally acclaimed artists. Some of the most illustrious amongst these
include Jean Dubuffet, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Rembrandt, Niko Pirosmani, Josef
Koudelka, Joan Miró, Akira Kurosawa, Marc Chagall, Pablo Picasso, Fernando
Botero, Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, Goya, Manolo Valdés, Andy Warhol, Cecil
Beaton, Alberto Giacometti, Giorgio de Chirico, and Sergey Parajanov
Since its
inauguration, Pera Museum collaborates annually with national and international
institutions of art and education to hold exhibitions that support young
artists. All of the Museum’s exhibitions are accompanied by books, catalogues,
audio-visual events in addition to learning programs. Parallel to its seasonal
programs and events, Pera Film offers visitors and film buffs a wide range of
screenings that extend from classics and independent movies to animated films
and documentaries. Pera Film also hosts special shows that directly correlate
with the temporary exhibitions’ themes.
Pera Museum has evolved
to become a leading and distinguished cultural center in one of the liveliest
quarters of İstanbul.
HISTORY OF THE BUILDING
The construction of Hôtel
Bristol, designed in unison with the general architectural character of the
time by architect Achille Manoussos, was completed in 1893. The building was
owned by the Armenian Catholic Patriarchate.
Hôtel Bristol
was among the city’s most important hotels, and it frequently hosted
high-ranking international guests. It remained in service until the early
1980s.
Constructed
with brick masonry, Hôtel Bristol displayed features of neoclassical
architecture: It had a large lobby, marble stairs, a lift, comfortable suites,
halls, and a spacious dining hall with separate table seating.
Over the
years, Hôtel Bristol had famous managers, such as Logothetti, Adampoulos,
Djiras and Hadjira. Reflecting the changes in the region’s demographic
composition in the early 1930s, Ömer Lütfi Bengü bought the hotel and continued
to manage it until the 1980s.
In the 1980s,
Hotel Bristol could no longer compete with newer hotels. Following the passing
of the final owner of the hotel, Ömer Lütfi Bengü, in 1983, his heirs put it up
for sale. The building was first purchased by Yıldız Lastikçilik, a rubber
manufacturer, and then by Esbank, a national bank.
The building
was redesigned by architect Doğan Hasol in order for it to function as the
headquarters of Esbank. The hotel and the adjacent five-storey residential
building underwent comprehensive renovation; their lots were combined but their
façades facing Meşrutiyet Street were retained.
The building served as the headquarters of Esbank until 2002. It was redesigned as a modern and fully equipped museum by architect Sinan Genim, who retained Manoussos’ original façade as well as the lots combined by Hasol.
SIT, 1994
Pastel on
Paper on Aluminum
Dimensions: 160
x 120 cm
Private Collection
LUSH, 1994
Pastel on Canvas
Dimensions: 120
x 160 cm
Hollywood
Fine Art Collection
Courtesy of
Ostrich Arts Ltd. & Victoria Miro
WIDE SARGASSO
SEA, 1991
Acrylic on Canvas
Dimensions: 75
x 99.5 cm
Courtesy of
Ostrich Arts Ltd. & Victoria Miro
UNTITLED (STUDY FOR THE ABORTION SERIES),1998
Pencil on paper,
Dimensions: 32 x 42 cm
Collection
Courtesy of Ostrich Arts
Ltd. & Victoria Miro
STUDY FOR THE ABORTION N.3, 1998
Pencil on paper,
Dimensions: 42 x 59 cm
Collection Courtesy of
Ostrich Arts Ltd. & Victoria Miro
UNTITLED (STUDY FOR THE ABORTION SERIES 1),1997
Pencil on paper,
Dimensions: 31 x 42 cm
Collection Courtesy of
Ostrich Arts Ltd. & Victoria Miro
UNTITLED NO.4,
1998
Pastel on
Paper Mounted on Aluminium
Dimensions: 110
x 100 cm
Private
Collection
UNTITLED 1, 1999
Etching on Somerset
paper,
Dimensions: 38.0 x 48.0 cm
Courtesy of Ostrich Arts
Ltd. & Cristea Roberts Gallery
| Edition of 17
UNTITLED 2, 1999
Etching on Somerset
paper,
Dimensions: 38 x 48 cm
Courtesy of Ostrich Arts
Ltd. & Cristea Roberts Gallery
Edition of 17
UNTITLED 3, 1999
Etching on Somerset
paper,
Dimensions: 38 x 48 cm
Courtesy of Ostrich Arts
Ltd. & Cristea Roberts Gallery
Edition of 17
DEPRESSION
No. 7, 2007
Pastel on Paper
Dimensions: 101.5
x 68.5 cm
Courtesy of
Ostrich Arts Ltd. & Victoria Miro
FLYING
CHILDREN, 1992
Coloured Etching
and Aquatint on Somerset Paper
Dimensions: 62.4
x 50.7 cm
Courtesy of
Ostrich Arts Ltd. & Cristea Roberts Gallery
ORATORIO,
2009
Wood Cabinet
with Side Panels Comprising of Eight Paintings
(Conté Pencil
on Paper) and Eight Figures
Dimensions: 255
x 350 cm
Ostrich Arts
Ltd. Collection
Courtesy of
Ostrich Arts Ltd. & Victoria Miro
SALAZAR
VOMITING THE HOMELAND, 1960
Oil on Canvas
Dimensions: 94
x 120 cm
CAM-Fundação
Calouste Gulbenkian, Lisbon Collection
UNTITLED,
1986
Acrylic on Paper
Dimensions: 112
x 76 cm
British
Council Collection | Courtesy of the British Council Collection
SNARE, 1987
Acrylic on
Paper Mounted on Canvas
Dimensions: 150
x 150 cm
British
Council Collection
Courtesy of
the British Council Collection
TURKISH BATH,
1958
Collage,
Acrylic Paint and Graphite on Canvas
Dimensions: 93
x 93 cm
CAM-Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian Collection, Lisbon
STUDY FOR THE
FAMILY, 1987
Indian Ink on
Paper
Dimensions: 31.5
x 29.5 cm
Ostrich Arts
Ltd. Collection
Courtesy of
Ostrich Arts Ltd. & Victoria Miro
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