From June 10, 2026, Picasso, through the Eye of Paul Smith is on view at the National Art Center, Tokyo in Roppongi.

Installation view of the exhibition "Picasso, through the Eye of Paul Smith," The National Art Center, Tokyo, 2026 | photo by ©FASHION HEADLINE

The exhibition presents approximately 80 works by Pablo Picasso from the collection of the Musée national Picasso-Paris. Yet what visitors encounter here is far from a conventional retrospective.

The exhibition's artistic direction was conceived by British fashion designer Sir Paul Smith, who reimagines Picasso's work through his own distinctive lens. Rather than following a strictly chronological path, the exhibition unfolds as a journey through Picasso's ideas, curiosity, and creative impulses.

Walking through the galleries, one is left with a question that feels more compelling than "Who was Picasso?"

Instead, the exhibition asks:

Why does Picasso still feel so contemporary today?

Not a Picasso Exhibition, but an Exhibition About Reading Picasso

The exhibition begins with Bull's Head.

Created from a bicycle saddle and handlebars, the sculpture remains one of Picasso's most iconic demonstrations of imaginative transformation. By turning ordinary objects into something entirely different, Picasso challenged conventional ideas about what art could be.

Interestingly, the work also resonates with Paul Smith's own biography. Before becoming a designer, Smith aspired to be a professional cyclist. Throughout the gallery, bicycle saddles appear as part of the exhibition design, serving as subtle tributes to Picasso's celebrated work.

Installation view of the exhibition "Picasso, through the Eye of Paul Smith," The National Art Center, Tokyo, 2026 | photo by ©FASHION HEADLINE


What is presented here is not simply an explanation of artworks. Rather, it is a visualization of Picasso's way of thinking—how one idea leads to another, and how associations generate unexpected creative possibilities.

Tracing Picasso Through Color and Experimentation

The exhibition is organized into sixteen thematic sections that illuminate different aspects of Picasso's artistic evolution.

"Blue Melancholy" explores the works of his Blue Period, born in the aftermath of the death of his close friend Carlos Casagemas. Immersed in deep shades of blue, these paintings reveal the loneliness and uncertainty of the young artist.

The following section, "Pink Ladies: A Prelude to Les Demoiselles d'Avignon," traces the experiments that would eventually lead to Cubism.

Installation view of the exhibition "Picasso, through the Eye of Paul Smith," The National Art Center, Tokyo, 2026 | photo by ©FASHION HEADLINE


Perhaps most striking is Picasso's refusal to remain within a single style. From the Blue Period and Rose Period to Cubism, Classicism, ceramics, and printmaking, his career was defined by constant reinvention.

While Picasso is often reduced to the label of Cubism, this exhibition reveals him instead as an artist driven by perpetual experimentation.

Turning Everyday Objects into Art

Picasso's creative daring is particularly evident in the section devoted to assemblage and collage. Newspapers, wallpaper, spoons, bicycle parts—ordinary materials became the building blocks of new artistic possibilities.

By incorporating fragments of reality directly into his work, Picasso challenged the long-held belief that art's purpose was simply to imitate the world.

Installation view of the exhibition "Picasso, through the Eye of Paul Smith," The National Art Center, Tokyo, 2026 | photo by ©FASHION HEADLINE


The transformation of familiar objects into something unexpected feels remarkably close to Paul Smith's own philosophy.

For decades, Smith has built his design language around introducing subtle twists to classic forms. Both creators share a fascination with discovering new meanings within the ordinary.

A Childlike Sense of Curiosity

One of the exhibition's most revealing insights is that playfulness lay at the heart of Picasso's creativity.

Works depicting his son Paulo dressed as a harlequin and portraits of his daughter Maya reveal a gentler, deeply personal side of the artist.

Installation view of the exhibition "Picasso, through the Eye of Paul Smith," The National Art Center, Tokyo, 2026 | photo by ©FASHION HEADLINE


His lifelong fascination with bullfighting, circus performers, and theater can likewise be traced back to childhood experiences. Rather than presenting Picasso solely as a towering figure of art history, the exhibition portrays him as someone whose curiosity about the world never diminished.

The Unexpected Connection of Stripes

Another intriguing thread emerges midway through the exhibition: stripes.

During the 1930s, Picasso experimented with striped patterns in portraits of the women he loved. Later, photographs by Robert Doisneau helped cement the now-famous image of Picasso wearing a striped sailor shirt.

Sir Paul Smith touring the exhibition | Courtesy of Organizer


Paul Smith, of course, is synonymous with stripes. There is no direct connection between Picasso's stripes and Smith's signature motif. Yet both men share an instinctive attraction to color, rhythm, and the playful disruption of established rules.

Paul Smith's Small Acts of Mischief

One of the exhibition's greatest pleasures lies in its quieter details.

Scattered throughout the galleries are small illustrations drawn by Paul Smith himself: mice, dogs, birds, flowers, even scrubbing brushes.

Installation view of the exhibition "Picasso, through the Eye of Paul Smith," The National Art Center, Tokyo, 2026 | photo by ©FASHION HEADLINE


At first glance, they resemble spontaneous doodles. Yet these interventions serve a larger purpose.

Just as Picasso transformed everyday objects into artworks and altered printed images with a few simple lines, Smith introduces moments of surprise and discovery throughout the exhibition space.

Visitors are encouraged not merely to observe, but to notice. That act of finding becomes part of the exhibition itself.

Creativity Never Lost Its Vitality

In his later years, Picasso settled in Mougins in the south of France, where he continued to work relentlessly across painting, printmaking, and ceramics.

His ceramic works, in particular, retain the same spirit of experimentation that defined his earlier career. They blur the boundaries between painting, sculpture, and craft while embracing new forms of expression.

Installation view of the exhibition "Picasso, through the Eye of Paul Smith," The National Art Center, Tokyo, 2026 | photo by ©FASHION HEADLINE


The final gallery is filled with exhibition posters from around the world. Together, they demonstrate not only Picasso's immense cultural impact but also the extraordinary creative energy he sustained throughout his life.

Playfulness as the Origin of Creativity

This is not an exhibition that simply gathers Picasso's masterpieces. Rather, it is an attempt to interpret Picasso's creativity through the eyes of another creator: Paul Smith. As visitors search for the small mice and birds hidden throughout the galleries, they may find themselves enjoying the act of discovery as much as the artworks themselves.

That feeling is perhaps what Picasso and Paul Smith share most deeply. To question conventions, find new meanings in familiar things, and look at the world from a slightly different angle.

The adventure of playfulness offered by this exhibition is, ultimately, an invitation to return to the very origins of creativity.