"Drawing from the model is more spontaneous than drawing from the imagination... I think if you have something to look at and try and get it, you find that all sorts of things happen" - Paula Rego
There are many big-name art exhibitions on in London presently, celebrating the big, brash and bold in terms of painting, sculpture and installations. One big-name show that bucks this trend by quietly focusing on the power of drawing can be found at Marlborough Gallery. Paula Rego: From Mind to Hand Drawings from 1980 to 2001, is a sheer delight and concentrates on the discipline required and fun to be had in the act of drawing. The exhibition captures Rego's recordings from observation, as well as the development of ideas as a preparation for paintings through a range of media such as pen/brush and ink, watercolour, and pencil. The relatively small scale of the drawings really pulls you in, forging an especially intimate engagement with these works in a way that I hadn't felt with the big paintings and sculptures experienced at other shows that I have visited lately. Rego's drawings here are at turns whimsical, sensual, menacing and harrowing, all executed with the assuredness of a master draughtsman. This is a wonderful exhibition that shows just how central drawing is to Rego's practice, and serves as a reminder that we should all look a little harder, and perhaps strive to draw more. The works featured here are a small selection of two decades worth of drawings on display.
Paula Rego: From Mind to Hand Drawings from 1980 to 2001
until 27th October
Marlborough
6 Albemarle Street
London
W1S
