“She painted herself the most intimate”
Paula Rego was an outstanding and brave visual artist who for decades painted her most intimate self, inspiring two generations and going down in history as one of the great painters of this century. You will miss her.
“It opened up the possibilities for us to be brave in our work” Sonia Boyce
She was such an insightful, hardworking, naughty artist. I first came across her curious watercolors of girls doing horrible things to their pets in the 80’s and I’ve been a fan of them ever since. They were hilarious, amazing, and wildly imaginative. Paula opened us up to all the possibilities of being bold and brave in our work. There is no one like her. What a loss.
“His paintings are as powerful as you allow them to be” Lubaina Himid
I never met Paula Rego, although she seems to have been a part of British contemporary art for a long time. His paintings frighten me, their profound depictions of brutality and pain, whether they speak of fascist regimes or domestic control, are as powerful as they allow.
‘His paintings scare me’ … Salazar Vomiting the Homeland (1960) by Paula Rego. Photography: Courtesy of the artist and Victoria Miro
“He left behind a group of devoted students” Tacita Dean
As a student at Falmouth School of Art in the mid-eighties, I had an individual tutorial with Paula Rego that I have never forgotten. I remember exactly where I was sitting, the light in the room, even the time of day is transposed into my mind with the distinctive choreographic invention of some of his most famous paintings. He had arrived on the train from London after an exhibition at the Edward Totah Gallery and the small catalog was feverishly passing by with its liquid zoomorphic characters and a wide variety of colors. It was immediately a powerful presence with a huge European charm and sophistication, a bit of something that came from somewhere else, but also childish. He made a great impression that day and left behind a group of devoted students. These first encounters are important, and she will always have a special place in my personal pantheon of artists. A challenging painter who worked with things of her own, she was tireless, brave, determined, infinitely imaginative, decidedly curious and 100% original.
‘Generous and totally free’
It’s always interesting when another artist is exactly the same age … I remember with great affection those first works of imagination when, I think, I was with Blond. [Fine Art] – different from anyone else: generous and completely free. And his hard work later: a different color, the polishing of the black boot. I remember he came to an exhibition I did at the Stephen Lacey Gallery in London, he walked around the play with me and I don’t remember a word he said, I think he was dressed in green … but the fact that he had come and it was enough to talk about the paintings, the most exciting thing. He will never be forgotten … I’m so sorry he died.
A cake from the series Depression (2007) by Paula Rego. Photography: Courtesy of Victoria Miro
“Drawing what can’t be drawn”
What to say? I don’t want him to leave: I want him to still be there, in front of me, working, painting, thinking. I want to keep seeing the new work he has done. I remember a tutorial he gave 30 years ago at Royal College [of Art]; I remember seeing her from afar at the opening of her Milton Keynes show, still pretty in an irregular dress; I remember the first time I saw his Depression series of cakes and I felt like he was drawing what could not be drawn.
“She is a guiding light”
Paula Rego’s play discovered a kind of female experience that no one had represented before. Her masterful and persistent vision makes her a guiding light for artists around the world.
“She portrayed the messy, raw parts of humanity”
The first time I saw Paula’s work in an art magazine, I remember thinking, “Why have I never seen this artist’s work ?! Why is this artist no better known? “It was shocking to see such a good work from someone I didn’t know. and women’s bodies.I don’t know where I first saw O’Vinho [2007] lithographs, but I remember thinking of his brutal honesty.
“A radiant smile”
Paula has always been a support to me, even in the most difficult times. Whenever we said goodbye, he would always add “God bless” and give me his radiant smile.
“She was a master narrator”
Paula Rego is an artist I have admired since I was a teenager. I was immediately drawn to their figurative paintings, the very fact that they seemed bold and challenging to me at a time when figuration was not exactly considered the epitome of contemporary art. I don’t think anyone captures women’s experiences like she did, with such a direct, visceral, and psychological force that she lets the world see it differently. She was a master narrator of real-life physical and emotional trials, often intertwined with the fictional and symbolic world of fairy tales. His subjects always feel very physically out of this world, with all the emotions exposed through his remarkable ability. Nothing is arbitrary in their work, each brand means something and the trust and intention with which they are established is unique. It leaves behind an incredible working life, in which I know I will continue to be inspired, as many other generations of artists are sure to do.
“Privacy and power”
It’s not just about the breadth and variety of Paula Rego’s catalog, or the decades-long commitment to her studio work, what always stuck with me was her intimacy with the materials – some and all. and how this blurred the visual languages he developed in her. its mission is to expose the narration of its images. There you can see a soft pastel drawing partner playing on the surface until he is 80 years old. To me, drawing is the most immediate application and space, where the messy meets the honest, and she coagulated all parts of herself into her drawings in such a way that she gave the creative license a clear and feminine form.