Self-portrait by Pablo Picasso that has not previously been exhibited in public goes on view in London

LONDON.- Self, on public display at Ordovas from 14 October until 13 December 2014, looks at interpretations of self-portraiture by four of the greatest artists of the 20th century – Francis Bacon, Damien Hirst, Jeff Koons and Pablo Picasso. Examining the way in which self-portraiture has been used in the modern era as a vehicle for communication and celebration, as well as for the inevitable memento mori, Self includes a major self- portrait study made in 1901 by Picasso, which has never before been publicly exhibited, and one of the first studies of a single head ever painted by Bacon, which has not been shown in London for almost 50 years. The exhibition also reveals new insights into the importance of ‘self’ in the work of Hirst and Koons, who have contributed a conversation to the exhibition catalogue, exploring their relationship with their own self-portraits as well as with those by important old and modern masters.

“The idea behind this exhibition grew from a conversation with Damien Hirst and took two initial works as its inspiration – Self-Portrait (Yo Picasso), 1901, and Self-Portrait, 1969 by Francis Bacon,” says Pilar Ordovas. “I was intrigued by the idea of exploring the self-portraits of living artists alongside those made by Picasso and Bacon, and I approached Damien to see if he might be interested in participating – he not only was happy to be part of the show, but also suggested the title Self, and that I included Jeff Koons.”

Since the first hand print was left on the side of a cave, the making of images has been intrinsically bound up with self-portraiture and its concerns of self-presentation and self-preservation. During the sea changes that took place in the art world in the 20th century, this timeless human activity was thoroughly re-examined. Photography, mass media and existentialism would all come to have an impact on the way that artists as diverse as Picasso and Hirst captured their own image. Looking at the self-portraits of Picasso, Bacon, Koons and Hirst we can see highly different strategies being used to examine the entire nature of self-portraiture, while also celebrating and commemorating the larger-than-life personas of the artists themselves.

Self-Portrait (Yo Picasso), 1901, is a bold, declamatory image of Picasso painting by candlelight, capturing his own fierce gaze for posterity, and has never before been publicly exhibited. Bacon’s Self-Portrait, 1969 has not been publicly exhibited in London for nearly 50 years and is one of the artist’s first studies of a single head, a work imbued with haunted mortality and displaying the sinuous paint handling, visceral intensity and psychological depth of his mature works.

In Jeff Koons’ Self-Portrait, 1991, a white marble bust from his Made in Heaven series, the artist is reinvented as a prophet able to lead viewers to a promised land, free of the shackles of shame and taste. Koons’ work stands in contrast to Hirst's darkly humorous yet poignantly reflective works, With Dead Head, 1991 - a photographic piece that documents the artist’s earliest attempt at facing the idea of death – and Self-Portrait R., 2008.