Minneapolis-based painter Frank Gaard, whose work is on view in the current exhibition Paper Trail: A Decade of Acquisitions, shared his thoughts in an upcoming issue of Walker magazine on Pablo Picasso’s influence on his work. With the opening of Picasso and American Art just over a week away, here’s what he had to say:
“ Most of my pals in high school called me Pablo or Picasso even in signing the yearbook. Steve wrote me from Viet Nam as Pablo. Breaking free of Picasso’s pervasive influence was a concern. His pop image was often like the clown who entertains the aristocrats with his foolish antics. Some of the artists Picasso had influenced were of interest in our younger art school days–Matta, Wilfredo Lam, and most of all Arshile Gorky. Most importantly perhaps Pollock and de Kooning seemed to remain deeply taken with Picasso, so much so that Pollock really never broke through til he abandoned Picasso. It was Pop Art that changed everything: art became fun and less European. At least we could proceed as if the water had been changed in the bath tub and Pablo was down the drain. The influence of Picasso’s diminished stature was the birthplace of my art when the School of Paris gave way to Andy Warhol’s Factory.”