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Paula Rego

PAULA REGO

Drawing Breath Galerie Lelong 13 October–18 November 2023 13 Rue de Téhéran, Paris
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Press Release

Paula Rego’s dream world was forged from the traditional Portuguese tales and legends she was told as a child. Having fled Salazar’s totalitarian regime in 1951 to study art in London, Rego soon found herself immersed in the stimulating climate of English painting at the time.

Openly influenced by Goya, Ensor and Hogarth, she developed a singular and powerful body of work that confronts the critical issues of contemporary society.

“Drawing is like breathing”, she used to say. Prone to frequent bouts of depression, she used drawing to fight it. Several of the works in this exhibition bear witness to this struggle, and show how drawing enabled her to confront the complex emotions that assailed her on a daily basis.

In the months leading up to her death on 8 June 2022, Rego personally selected the twenty works on paper that make up this exhibition. Exhibiting in Paris was very close to her heart.

Paula Rego was born in Lisbon on 26 January 1935 and died in London on 8 June 2022. She was the only woman artist of the London School, whose members included Francis Bacon, Lucian Freud, Frank Auerbach and Leon Kossoff. In 2018, a major retrospective exhibition was devoted to her at the Musée de l’Orangerie in Paris, “The Cruel Stories of Paula Rego”. From 20 July, the National Gallery in London is showing a large mural, Crivelli’s Garden, commissioned from the artist 30 years ago. This is her second exhibition at Galerie Lelong & Co.

Press release courtesy Galerie Lelong & Co. Text: Nick Willing and Amélie Adamo.

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About the Artist

Paula Rego told compelling stories through her paintings, sculptures and pastel pieces, centring the experience of women in society in her imaginative, occasionally disturbing images exploring themes of rebellion, power and gender, working in a style that evolved from abstract to figurative.

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Also Exhibiting at Galerie Lelong

All Exhibitions
David Nash
DAVID NASH Catching Forms. Wood to Bronze Galerie Lelong 10 September–10 October 2026 13 Rue de Téhéran, Paris
Barthélémy Toguo
BARTHÉLÉMY TOGUO The Nomadic Studio Galerie Lelong 10 September–10 October 2026 13 Rue de Téhéran, Paris
About the Gallery
Galerie Lelong is located in Paris and New York. It was founded by Jacques Dupin, Daniel Lelong and Jean Frémon.

The Paris gallery has been exhibiting recent works from artists of international standing since 1981. The 1980s were notable for artists who went on to become household names, including Joan Miró, Antoni Tàpies, Francis Bacon, Louise Bourgeois, Eduardo Chillida, Paul Rebeyrolle, Pierre Alechinsky, but also for the next generation of artists: Konrad Klapheck, Jan Dibbets, Donald Judd, Robert Ryman, Richard Serra, Jannis Kounellis, Arnulf Rainer, Nicola De Maria and Jan Voss.

In the 1990s, the gallery hosted artists who represented major movements in contemporary art: Sean Scully, Günther Förg, Andy Goldsworthy, Ernest Pignon-Ernest, Antonio Saura. The gallery also increased international recognition of the work of Ana Mendieta.

Since the turn of the century, Galerie Lelong has accentuated the geographical and expressive diversity of its artists: from sculpture and objects by Jaume Plensa, David Nash, Wolfgang Laib, Kiki Smith, Rebecca Horn, Barry Flanagan to installations by Barthélémy Toguo and Lin Tianmiao, without forgetting painting, namely David Hockney, Robert Motherwell, Kate Shepherd, Nalini Malani, Nancy Spero, Juan Uslé, Leon Kossoff.

Galerie Lelong has a large publishing department which produces and distributes engravings, lithographs, digital prints and multiple objects, and collates these works in catalogues raisonnés.

It produces monumental sculptures to order for public spaces and private clients.

The gallery is present at the leading international contemporary art fairs (Art Basel, Art Basel Miami Beach, Art Basel Hong Kong, Fiac Paris, Frieze London, Frieze New York, Arco Madrid, Art Brussels, Expo Chicago...).

The directors of the gallery are Jean Frémon, Daniel Lelong and Patrice Cotensin in Paris and Mary Sabbatino in New York.
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Address
13 rue de Téhéran
Paris
France
Opening Hours
Tues - Fri, 10.30am - 6pm
Sat, 2pm - 6.30pm
(1)
Paris 13 rue de Téhéran
Galerie Lelong contemporary art gallery in 13 Rue de Teheran Paris France
Galerie Lelong
13 rue de Téhéran, Paris, France
+33 145 631 319
http://www.galerie-lelong.com

Opening hours
Tues - Fri, 10.30am - 6pm
Sat, 2pm - 6.30pm
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