Picasso Black & White @ the Guggenheim

The lines for the Picasso show @ the Guggenheim were wrapped around the block despite the rain.  Once inside on the ground floor, you encounter two large female sculptures, with outstretched arms.  The bronze sculpture, "Woman with Vase," was 1st shown @ the Paris World's Fair alongside his painting, Guernica.  Picasso had 2 copies of this statue made.  One was donated to the People of the Spanish Republic & the other sits atop his tomb.  "The Woman with Outstretched Arms" is painted iron on sheet metal I found warmly beckoning.  To my amazement, I was not familiar with either piece or a great many of the works in the exhibit.  The majority of these works came  from private owners and pieces held by the Picasso family.  Incredibly, 38 works have never been exhibited in the U.S., 5 have never been on view to the public, including "Bust of a Woman With a Hat." A remarkable accomplishment by the museum's curators.  At the start of the show we read, "Picasso was THE MOST INFLUENTIAL artist of the 20th C. " That  is quite a formidable statement.  Known for various periods & styles (Cubism stemmed from his simplification of form & color.)  Picasso's paintings & sculptures in black, white & gray spained throughout his career, ('04-'71.)  The use of such a stark & limited palette gave intense focus on lines and forms.  The black/white tones accentuated the horrors & brutality of war; the "Charnel House" (44-45) & the "Guernica" paintings.  The starkness and contrast of light also gives intensity to his other works as in "The Kiss."  The museum was packed and I was elated to be among the crowd.  Kudos to the curators for compiling so many unseen works.  The curators will get no arguements from me on their claim.