Titus fine art brings rare Picasso works to Artexpo: plates and prints show the artist's contribution to lithography - International Artexpo New York: February 26-March 1

Visitors to International Artexpo New York are in for a treat. Titus Fine Art of Beverly Hills, Calif., is scheduled to exhibit a rare collection of Pablo Picasso's etched copper plates at booth No. 1964. The plates were inspired by the poems of Luis de Gongora.

The progressive series of etchings show Picasso's brief foray into lithography. The examples bear witness to the beginnings of a reductionist period for the Spanish artist, during which earlier complex works gave way to minimalism.

Picasso was a fan of Gongora since his childhood and rediscovered the power of his work during his days in Paris. The images embody the marriage of Picasso's fascination with women and his love of all things Spanish.

Also on display will be Picasso's linocut prints, which, according to William Corrado, curator and director of education for Titus, are Picasso's greatest contribution to lithography. They show his progression in the creative linocut process and the uniqueness of each incarnation of the proof.

"Picasso was a reductionist, interested in arriving at the essential truth of the matter. What you see is a breaking down of the complications of the imagery as compared to his earlier works," said Corrado.

In addition, Titus Fine Art will exhibit proofs from Picasso's limestone lithographs created in the Atelier Mourlot in Paris. "Much to the shock, awe and delight of the master lithographers, he altered the normally smooth surfaces of the traditional Bavarian lime stones with the tools of a sculptor," said Corrado.

"Picasso always approached a medium and set out not only to learn the medium but master it and ultimately transform it." Since Picasso reworked the stone after each pulling, each progressive work is completely unique.

Corrado said the often melancholy Picasso found the tedium of the artistic method frustrating and spent only four years working in the medium, between 1958 and 1962, before moving on to another period in his metamorphic career. The brevity of this period, however, is no indication of Picasso's level of mastery in the artform. Corrado said, "seeing these progressive works is like witnessing the creative act, like a father being present at a baby's birth; the best seats in the house. They are raw, completely untouched by any technical refinement, brutally honest and bare."

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