Paula Rego

Fascinating exhibition at Tate Britain on the life and work of Paula Rego.

I love Rego’s more recent work but didn’t know of her early collage pieces or anything about her early life in Lisbon so the first rooms were a revelation to me and explained some of her later work.

The pictures were described and presented well and not too thickly hung so they each had room to speak which is important for complex compositions. I loved the room of her 1986-88 works of which the Tate’s “The Dance” was the culmination. These monumental pictures were shown with drawings and studies for them.

I was struck throughout how often the subject works were appalling but they are so beautifully painted and packed with symbolism. You didn’t feel you needed to understand all the nuances to find these dramatic works. The commentaries were fascinating though and I loved the touch that Rego had bought her therapist’s couch and includes it in paintings.

Closes 24 October 2021

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