Paula Rego at Tate Britain A story of stories of women’s stories.
No holds barred here. Intelligent, sympathetic, emphatic, brutal, honest and most discomforting. Paula Rego, Tate Britain. @tate
Bio – below
Her many styles are on display here, her forms and approaches, showing her developing oeuvre, each time dramatic in their formats.
After visiting this exhibition and truly contemplating the messages behind the images, who could not become a feminist and empathise with the cause.
Rego looks deeply into how women’s identities are shaped by patriarchal societies. She delves into the more sinister side of children’s stories; she explores adult’s cruelties and the wildness of children.
Rego emphasises the vulnerability of women, in one place concentrating on her homeland of Portugal and the Salazar regime, the outlawing of abortion and the subsequent yet further abuse of women.
Rego’s style reject the submissiveness and contempt imposed on women in many societies.
It is perhaps telling that she lives in the UK for most of her life and indeed had become the first female artist in residence at the National Gallery, London (where she subverted some works of prominent male artist e.g., Hogarth, working in a man’s world, constructed by men).
Perhaps it is only in the liberal Western economies that a female artist such as Paula Rego could be so openly and successfully able to make her own unique contribution to defiantly responding to male hegemony.
Bio:
Dame Maria Paula Figueiroa Rego DBE RA (born 26 January 1935) is a Portuguese-British visual artist who is particularly known for her paintings and prints based on storybooks. Rego’s style has evolved from abstract towards representational, and she has favoured pastels over oils for much of her career. Her work often reflects feminism, coloured by folk-themes from her native Portugal.
Rego studied at the Slade School of Fine Art, University College London and was an exhibiting member of the London Group, along with David Hockney and Frank Auerbach. She was the first artist-in-residence at the National Gallery in London.[1] She lives and works in London. (source – Wikipedia)
Paula Rego at Tate Britain
Art-Tales is a magazine blog site following the journeys and reflections through the art world of artist, sketcher, art historian and critic Al Beckett.
Merely to amuse, inform and entertain, Art-Tales is aimed at people who simply wish to dip a toe into the art world, share an insight, smile at a joke and maybe even be informed a little.
Al regularly visits the major galleries in the UK and whenever possible, mainland Europe and the USA. He keeps up to date by subscribing to many periodicals, viewing documentaries and the news in general.
Al paints and sculpts himself and frequently sketches in-situ. He has written a book ‘The Primacy of Your Eye’ designed to give people some insights to enhance their experiences in galleries. Fully illustrated with 400 sketches and drawings of major art works and their artists, the book takes the reader on a journey through topics to perhaps consider to enrich the viewing experience.
To many, the art world is daunting, to others it holds little interest. A gentle submersion at a depth to suit the individual can produce rich and rewarding results.
That’s the purpose of Art-Tales.
Paula Rego at Tate Britain