Cubist Revolution: Collection of the Centre Pompidou is Coming to Tokyo in October

The Cubist Revolutionー An Exhibition From the Collection of the Centre Pompidou, Paris is the first major exhibition of Cubism in Japan in approximately 50 years. Featuring famous works from the collection of the Centre Pompidou in Paris, which holds one of the world’s largest collections of modern and contemporary art, it will be held at the National Museum Of Western Art, Tokyo, from October 3 to January 28, 2024. The exhibition will also travel to the Kyoto City Kyocera Museum of Art in March next year.

Cubism was a highly influential modern art movement that emerged in the early 20th century. It was pioneered by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque, who sought to challenge traditional artistic conventions by creating a new way of seeing and representing the world. The term ‘cube’ is not directly related to the movement’s name but reflects the emphasis on geometric forms that characterize Cubism. It was first used by the French critic Louis Vauxcelles in 1908 to describe Braque’s landscape paintings.

Cubist artists rejected the idea of creating realistic depictions and challenged viewers to see beyond the surface appearance of things. This revolutionary movement paved the way for other avant-garde movements, such as Dada and Surrealism.

This is the first large-scale exhibition in Japan in nearly 50 years to focus on the theme of Cubism. The exhibition features approximately 130 paintings, sculptures, drawings, prints, videos, and documents by 40 artists, including over 50 works on display in Japan for the first time. Highlights include Braque's Grand Nu (1907-08) and the Centre Pompidou's representative Femme assise dans un fauteuil (1910) by Picasso.