Theatre Picasso

This autumn, Tate Modern invites visitors to enter Theatre Picasso, a major exhibition marking the centenary of Picasso’s painting The Three Dancers 1925. The exhibition will bring together around 50 works by one of the most influential figures of the 20th century, exploring how he imbued his work with a sense of theatricality. Coinciding with Tate Modern’s 25th anniversary year, Theatre Picasso will continue the gallery’s history of presenting foundational figures from art history in fresh ways.

Celebrated contemporary artist Wu Tsang and writer and curator Enrique Fuenteblanca will stage Picasso’s art, inspired by his approach to performance. The Three Dancers will be at the heart of the exhibition, shown alongside Tate’s entire collection of works by Picasso, featuring famous paintings as Weeping Woman 1937 and Nude Woman in a Red Armchair 1932. The exhibition will also showcase prints, drawings, sculptures, textile works and collages, interwoven with key loans from leading Picasso museums in France. Tsang and Fuenteblanca will invite contemporary choreographers and dancers to respond to Theatre Picasso in an accompanying programme.

Picasso was fascinated by performers and their boundless capacity for transformation, and he approached painting as a dramatic act in itself. Central to this was the construction of his own public persona or brand – Picasso ‘the artist’ – a mythologised version of Picasso which portrayed him as both a celebrated creative genius and an outsider. This figure accompanied Picasso throughout his life and continues to shape how we imagine the role of the artist today.

In Picasso’s own work, this persona was often expressed through fantastical and striking imagery, such as in the wool and silk tapestry Minotaur 1935, which will be displayed in the UK for the first time, on loan from Musée Picasso, Antibes. Henri-George Clouzot’s 1959 film The Mystery of Picasso will also feature in the exhibition, following Picasso in his studio as he creates works in real-time, a study of his vigorous creative process in which we see him throw his body into the act of painting.

Picasso not only used theatricality as a theme but also looked consistently towards popular entertainers and those pushed to the margins for inspiration, choosing to depict artists working in the circus world, bullfighters and flamenco dancers as well as artists models. Such figures will appear throughout the exhibition in works such as Girl in a Chemise c.1905, Horse with a Youth in Blue 1905-6 and Bullfight Scene 1960 from Tate’s collection, alongside Acrobat 1930 lent by Musée national Picasso-Paris. Tsang and Fuenteblanca will reflect on the status of these figures as they are represented in the work of Picasso, and within the context of the art museum. The exhibition will recognise both the continued relevance of Picasso and the fascinating contradictions that run throughout his life and work.

Notes to Editors

Theatre Picasso is presented in The George Economou Gallery. Supported by the Huo Family Foundation. With additional support from The Theatre Picasso Exhibition Supporters Circle, Tate Americas Foundation and Tate Members.

Staged by Wu Tsang and Enrique Fuenteblanca. Curated by Rosalie Doubal, Senior Curator, International Art (Performance & Participation); Natalia Sidlina, Curator, International Art, and Andrew de Brún, Assistant Curator, International Art.

Tate Members get unlimited free entry to all Tate exhibitions. Become a Member at tate.org.uk/members. Everyone aged 16-25 can visit all Tate exhibitions for £5 by joining Tate Collective. To join for free, visit tate.org.uk/tate-collective.

For press requests, email pressoffice@tate.org.uk or call +44(0)20 7887 8730.

To download press images, visit Tate’s Dropbox.

Listings information
Theatre Picasso
18 September 2025 – 12 April 2026
Tate Modern, Bankside, SE1 9TG
Open daily 10.00–18.00
Tickets available at tate.org.uk and +44(0)20 7887 8888
Free for Members. Join at tate.org.uk/members

About Wu Tsang and Enrique Fuenteblanca
Wu Tsang (b. 1982) is an award-winning filmmaker and visual artist who combines documentary and narrative techniques with fantastical detours into the imaginary. Her projects have been presented at museums, biennials, and film and theatre festivals internationally, including the Venice Biennale, Whitney Biennial, SXSW, Holland Festival. Tsang is a 2018 MacArthur “Genius” Fellow and has won numerous awards including Guggenheim and Rockefeller Foundations. From 2019-2024 she was a director-in-residence at the Schauspielhaus Zürich theatre. Tsang’s celebrated documentary film Wildness (2012) made its UK premiere at Tate Modern and her film installation A day in the life of bliss (2014) is on long term loan to the collection.

Enrique Fuenteblanca (b. 1996) is a writer, artist/curator, and creative producer working at the intersection of art and critical thought. He is the author of several poetry collections and regularly contributes dramaturgical texts for contemporary dance and flamenco. His ongoing collaborations include work with artists such as Wu Tsang and the collective Moved by the Motion or Rocío Molina, with presentations at the Venice Dance Biennale, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía (Madrid) and De Balie/Hartwig Art Foundation (Amsterdam). Fuenteblanca is a member of BNV Producciones and the Independent Platform for Modern and Contemporary Flamenco Studies.