Dora Maar & Gilot @ the NGV

Despite COVID-19, NGV has made moves in acquiring important pieces by Dora Maar and Francois Gilot. They will be discussing this shortly in an upcoming talk Agust 27, 2020. This is breaking news as Francoise Gilot is approaching her 100th year next year! That's right, Gilot was born in 1921 and has been an influential artist in modern and contemporary art for the past 70! Spearheaded by Cathy Leahy, the senior prints curator at NGV, this talk will explore the work of both Dora Maar and Francoise Gilot. In the past year, they have acquired three pieces cumulatively of both female artists who are well-known for their relationship with Pablo Picasso.

However, as an avid Art Historian and critic who has closely followed the career of Francoise Gilot, I am extremely critical of this approach to the two female artists'. It alludes to the female muse idea that is dramatically over-exaggerated throughout history to create drama and intrigue. I don't believe the two artists can be truly compared, so it will be interesting to see how the NGV will approach the topic without being an art historical cliche that will only devalue the work of both artists but will again repeat the worn narrative of Picasso & his women.

On the other hand, I look forward to seeing Gilot at the forefront of contemporary art in Australia. She has had only one exhibition in Australia where she exhibited her monotypes. So it is refreshing to see an artist of her calibre make a headline in Australia. If you want to know more about this up coming event, the link is below. During this COVID-19 period, this is the perfect at-home event.

https://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/program/new-to-the-ngv-francoise-gilot-dora-maar/

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