Picasso exhibition for Valletta 2018

100 etchings from the Suite Vollard and four paintings by Pablo Picasso will be brought to Malta for an exhibition in 2018, to coincide with Valletta being celebrated as the European Capital of Culture.

A memorandum of understanding was signed Wednesday evening between the secretary to the presidency Carmelo Briffa and Fundacion Mapfre managing director Pablo Jimenez.

Fundacion Mapfre will be organising and bringing the major exhibition to Malta, in collaboration with the office of the president.

President Marie Louise Coleiro Preca welcomed the exhibition, which  will be the first exhibition of Picasso in Malta and the first of any of the major painters.

Coleiro Preca said it was apt that Valletta host an exhibition of work by Picasso, a relative neighbour of ours, and that such exhibition be brought to Malta by the foundation of a Spanish company that had established itself in Malta.

“I am the flagship of the excitement of the Maltese people,” she said. “Thank you for thinking of the Community Chest Fund, and the Maltese public, so highly that you saw it fit to bring this exhibition to Malta.”

Jimenez said the foundation firmly believed that culture enriches people’s lives and it had, in fact, spent many years bringing art and history to the public through various exhibitions, courses and publications.

“Pablo Picasso was one of the greatest and most influential artists of the twentieth century, he has a worldwide reputation and his works fetch the highest prices at auction houses,” he said.

“This exhibition displays four paintings and about 100 etchings from the Suite Vollard collection which is owned by Fundación  Mapfre.“

Martin Galea, chairman of Mapfre Middleseaannounces the exhibition of Picasso works to brought to Malta in 2018

Javier Fernández-Cid Planiol, Chairman of Mapfre Internacional said he was delighted to be in Malta and to be  part of this project to bring Picasso to Malta.

Mapfre is a global insurance company present on the five continents and is one of the largest insurance providers worldwide with an annual turnover of over €26 billion.

“Fundación has been very active in Malta since 2012 through “The Street Smart Campaign” and the Healthy Living campaign aimed at promoting road safety and healthy lifestyle habits to more than 20,000 pupils aged 9 to 13 years in  schools across Malta and Gozo,” he said.

Fundación also sponsored the Head start Project, in collaboration with the Equal Partners Foundation which aims to help and improve the quality of life of young children who have a disability problem.

Fernandez Cid said Mapfre Middlesea was a strong supporter of the Malta Community Chest Fund Foundation and recognised the excellent work carried out by the national charity.

He thanked president Coleiro Preca for agreeing to collaborate with Fundación Mapfre and making the Palace of the Grandmasters available for the exhibition, so that people would have the opportunity to see the works of the great master.