NO trip to Europe is needed to experience the printmaking art of Pablo Picasso. A major exhibition, “Picasso: A Retrospective of Printmaking,” is being presented in Futian through the end of this month.

Spanning over seven decades, Picasso’s career was defined by constant experimentation with new media, from ceramics and glass to linocuts and woodcuts. This exhibition features 26 printworks, 45 linocuts, and nine related documents from his late period (1959–1962), tracing the evolution of one of modern art’s most original and prolific geniuses.

A highlight at the exhibition is “Imitation of the Female Half Body of Little Cranach,” a 1958 work marking Picasso’s bold entry into linocut. Using different linoleum blocks for different colors, he transforms the noblewoman’s image with sharp geometric reduction, turning Renaissance naturalism into modern experimentation.

The exhibition also features works on Picasso’s lovers, capturing the complexity of love — fragile romance, passionate impulse, and inner turmoil. With fluid, minimalist lines, his prints convey intense emotions, linking shifts in his artistic style to the women who inspired him.

Picasso chronicled every stage of the bullfight — from the lure to the kill. Known for keen observation and uninterrupted lines, he transforms horses’ snouts and bulls’ curls into concise symbols. The stark black-and-white silhouettes capture the brutal, sacred tension between man and beast.

Highlights also include the Dionysus series. In the 1950s, Picasso worked quietly in Vallauris in France, drawing from classical tradition. The god Dionysus became a recurring theme. Reimagining centaurs, nymphs, and festive scenes with fluid lines, bold colors, and rhythmic forms, he merges bacchanalian exuberance with his signature bull motif, celebrating life, dance, and wild creativity.

Dates: Through July 31

Venue: cdPark T5-L1, 31 Zhenghua West Road, Futian District (CDAC设计之都艺术中心)

Metro: Line 2, 10, 11 or 14 to Gangxia North Station (岗厦北站), then take a taxi

(Tang Li)