Paul Klee's Drawings at MASI Lugano from the Helft Collection

MASI Lugano presents a major exhibition of Paul Klee's works drawn exclusively from the private collection of Sylvie and Jorge Helft. The show features seventy pieces including drawings, watercolors, and prints spanning Klee's career from 1914 to 1940. Curated by Francesca Bernasconi and Arianna Quaglio, the exhibition is arranged thematically across seven sections covering nature, the interwar period (including Bauhaus), human and animal figures, narrative hints, performing arts, the artist's final years, and artist publications. The display occupies a single dense but airy room, encouraging intimate viewing. The Helft collection, which includes works by other artists, provides a comprehensive overview of Klee's creative evolution. Notable works include "La strega con il pettine" (1922), "Giochi d'acqua" (1922), "Esperienza crudele" (1933), "L'altra stanza dei fantasmi" (1925), "Illustrazione" (1928), "Cattiva mami" (1939), and "Metamorfosi interrotta" (1939). The exhibition highlights Klee's fine sense of humor, his ability to synthesize complex worlds in few strokes, and his paradoxical, radical approach in later years. Klee's art, as he famously stated, does not reproduce the visible but makes visible what is not always so. The show confirms MASI's high-level, non-obvious programming. Concurrent exhibitions include Marcel Broodthaers' "Poesie industriali" until November 11 and a Pietro Roccasalva retrospective at the adjacent Collezione Olgiati until December 18.