Laura Molloy discusses the new Picasso exhibition at the National Gallery of Ireland.
The National Gallery of Ireland is home to the national collection of Irish and European art. It is located in Dublin with one entrance on Merrion Square and another on Clare Street. It was founded in 1854 and opened its doors ten years later and is a must see for any art enthusiasts around Ireland.
On the 9th of October 2025, The National Gallery of Ireland, in collaboration with the Musée national Picasso-Paris, opened its new exhibition Picasso: From the Studio, a major monographic exhibition of the work of Pablo Picasso (1881-1973), supported by KPMG Ireland.
Students can avail of a student ticket priced at €8. There is also a 10% discount on any ticket booked online during weekdays with free entry available every Wednesday from 9.15am to 11.30am (booking is required.)
Alongside this, there are also €5 tickets every Thursday from 5pm to 7.15pm, once again with booking required in advance. The exhibition is already incredibly busy so purchasing tickets ahead of time would be helpful. The exhibition will remain open until the 22nd of February.
As an artist, Picasso was always surrounded by his art. His personal life and his work were always intimately linked. The exhibition places Picasso in the context of his studios, highlighting the various facets and phases of his art and life. It explores the key locations that defined him, from his arrival in Paris at the start of the twentieth century to his studio in Mas Notre-Dame de Vie (1961-1973) in Mougins. The exhibition features paintings, sculptures, ceramics, and works on paper, as well as photographic and audio-visual works.
One of Picasso's first studios was in the bohemian Bateau-Lavoir, Montmartre (1904-1912) and over the next 70 years, his homes and studios became larger, brighter and more comfortable. However , he often reminisced about the creative camaraderie of that formative time. As his stature grew, so did his celebrity. He carefully cultivated a public image and allowed friends, photographers and filmmakers to document successive studios. He enjoyed company and creative collaborations, but when he was working, Picasso regarded his studio as a private space.
The exhibition holds many pieces from Picasso, but I wanted to take the opportunity to spotlight a few of my favorites.
Footballer
In November 1960, Picasso began to make sculptures in cut and folded sheet-metal. He created prototypes in paper and card, which the workshops of Lionel Prejger in Vallauris copied in metal. He instructed the technicians to paint certain pieces white, to which he then applied drawing and colour. Footballer, like many of these metal sculptures, embodies a playful vitality.
Head of Woman
Picasso made this ceramic head in Vallauris. When he moved to La Californie in Cannes, he kept it on display in his studio. It features in many of the drawings and paintings he made there in the 1950s including, The Studio at La Californie (1956).
Glass
The drinking glass is a key motif in Picasso's Cubist art. In spring 1914, he made sculptures, collages and paintings of glasses. His collages comprised scraps of paper, stencilled letters, canvas and wood. His sculptures were mostly assemblages of pliable tin, wood, nails, sand and stippled paint marks. He also made a group of bronze absinthe glasses that incorporated a bronze sugar cube resting on a real spoon.
This exhibition will undoubtedly bring an abundance of visitors to the National Gallery. Picasso is one of the most renowned artists around the world, and this exhibition is an excellent opportunity for residents of Ireland to view some of his work, learn more about his artwork, and to enjoy the rest of the art that the gallery has to offer.