3 Review(s)

Since the 1950s, Paula Rego has played a key role in redefiningfigurative art in the UK and internationally. An uncompromising artistof extraordinary imaginative power, she has revolutionised the way inwhich women are represented. This stunning voulme tells the story ofRego's extraordinary life, highlighting the personal nature of much ofher work and the socio-political context in which it is rooted. It alsoreveals the artist's broad range of references, from comic strips tohistory painting.Featuring over 100 illustrations, including collage, paintings, largescalepastels, ink and pencil drawings, etchings and sculpture,including including early work from the 1950s in which Rego firstexplored personal as well as social struggle, her large pastels ofsingle figures from the acclaimed Dog Women and Abortion seriesand her richly layered, staged scenes from the 2000-10s.The range of texts reflects the themes explored in the exhibition,relating to the artist's childhood memories and everyday life, theexperience of love and the loss of the beloved. It also addressesbroader socio-political issues, such as the policing of women'sbodies, the struggle to legalise abortion, and the fight againstauthoritarianism and war, from the dictatorship in Portugal to theIraq War. The book reflects the richness of Rego's work, from thesocio-political context to the biographical, from her many literaryreferences to her vast knowledge and referencing of key historicalpaintings from the Western tradition.