Picalso

by Sophie Calle

On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the death of Pablo Picasso, the Parisian museum dedicated to the painter invited Sophie Calle to take over the Hôtel Salé. Confronted with the figure of one of the masters of modern art, she chose to completely empty the spaces of the museum – Picasso was expelled! – in order to install her furniture and personal objects there, on the upper floors, and to unfurl, on the ground floor, a fresco imagined as an echo of the famous Guernica but composed like an immense collage of the works she has been exchanging for years with other artists. To accompany this exhibition, À toi de faire, ma mignon , Sophie Calle has imagined a work in which she lists her “rendezvous” with Picasso. Testimonies from guards, paintings packed during confinement, etc. : so many stories presented in this art of storytelling so particular to Sophie Calle. Designed like an artist's book with its intimate format and its alternations of Bible and creative papers, Picalso immerses the reader in the funny, poetic and singular universe of the artist. An essay by Yve-Alain Bois, entitled Picassiette , recontextualizes these “rendezvous” in the work of Sophie Calle and revisits her favorite themes of memory, lack, disappearance or even absence. English Version

196 pages, Paperback

Published September 28, 2023

About the author

Sophie Calle is a French writer, photographer, installation artist, and conceptual artist. Calle's work is distinguished by its use of arbitrary sets of constraints, and evokes the French literary movement of the 1960s known as Oulipo. Her work frequently depicts human vulnerability, and examines identity and intimacy. She is recognized for her detective-like ability to follow strangers and investigate their private lives. Her photographic work often includes panels of text of her own writing.

Reviews

[Erika · Rating 5 out of 5]

A toi de faire, ma mignonne was an incredible experience. Enjoyed being able to sit down with this later and think more about it.

[ELIZABETH · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading this without having seen the exhibition myself actually feels kind of in line with Calle’s project. I’m choosing to believe she’d appreciate that.