Paula Rego in Paris at last

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“Get out of here you and your filth” a dark pastel by Paula Rego

I fell in love with Dame Paula Rego’s paintings in 1988 when I saw her first retrospective at the Serpentine gallery in London’s Hyde Park. Everything about her art was perfect : the dark Portuguese characters, the firmness of her hand, the colourful backgrounds, the tragic fairy tales…
So I was a bit disconcerted to find mostly drawings and etchings at Sophie Scheidecker’s gallery near Place des Vosges. A very tight security and police car at the entrance of the courtyard, a nervous staff at the opening (I am always there too early) a large figure (400 000€) thrown out loud at a customer/friend, a disjointed parquet floor where I almost fell three times, all of that made me uneasy. Yet the four or five beautiful large pastels made it worth the visit a hundred times.
Paula Rego has just turned 80 and was not present at the opening. This Portuguese born North London based artist has a museum to herself called « House of Stories » in Cascais, just outside Lisbon. Her large pastels are striking and reminded me of French artist Gérard Garouste’s. One would like a whole story told in the caption of «Get out of here you and your filth» for each painting seems full of secrets and fascinating stories…

The dashing Sophie Scheidecker has made a name to herself thanks to intimate connections to the business world and very good taste in art. Her exhibition last year, « la Part animale » curated by young and upcoming Tatyana Franck, was a beauty. And we should be grateful to her for bringing Paula Rego to rue des Minimes, in Paris, a rare event.

Sophie-Scheidecker

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2 Comments on “Paula Rego in Paris at last”

  1. Will put down on my ‘dream destinations’ list the House of Stories in Cascais! Am loving all your wonderful dispatrches form the wilder shores of Parisian cultural life, and am avid for more 😉 G

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