Uzbekistan seems an unlikely venue for a rare Pablo Picasso exhibition, but Tashkent’s State Arts Museum currently has 12 “forgotten” ceramics by the artist on view. The works were first exhibited in Tashkent in the 1960s and have remained in storage since then. While it is not clear why the pieces have remained out of sight for so long, some suggest that they may have been forgotten.
Uzbekistan is known for its own pottery and ceramics industry and is well known for its art collection as it has long been used by wealthy Russians to house valuable artworks, many of which were taken there during World War II for safe keeping.
The French painter and close friend of Picasso, Fernand Leger, and his wife, Nadya, originally owned the 12 ceramic pieces. When Leger died in 1955, Nadya decided to donate the works to museums in the former Soviet Union.
While most people associate Picasso with his paintings and drawings, he produced more than 2,000 ceramic pieces between 1947 and 1948.
