Bedri Baykam’s new exhibition titled BAYKAM ON PICASSO: “LES DEMOISELLES REVISITED” is at Piramid Sanat starting from March 26, 2026.
Shaped around Les Demoiselles d’Avignon (Pablo Picasso, 1907)—one of the most controversial and transformative works in modern art history—the series represents a comprehensive presentation of Baykam’s multi-layered research and production process spanning over the years. Having made its debut in May 2025 at Galerie S/Beaubourg (Paris) in collaboration with Art Engagement Consulting, the exhibition meets art enthusiasts at Piramid Sanat starting March 26.
Baykam’s relationship with Les Demoiselles d’Avignon relies on a deep and continuous dialogue extending back to his childhood years, rather than being a temporary reference. This early encounter formed the foundation of the intellectual line developed by the artist on modernism, body, representation, cultural interaction, and the East-West tension.
Les Demoiselles d’Avignon is considered a radical stance against the dominant aesthetic and understanding of "beauty" of its period and before. The primitive, unsettling language of African masks is placed at the center on both a conceptual and linear plane. With this work, the female body, which before Picasso had been represented with idealized curves in painting, transcends all established boundaries; it takes the lead role with an unsettling openness stripped of aesthetic expectations. The woman is brought into focus not as she is expected to be, but through the concept the artist wishes to convey, and this attitude creates one of the most powerful breaking points of modern art.
Picasso’s visual revolution was shaped not only by African masks but also through a multi-layered interaction he established with masters such as Gauguin, El Greco, and Cézanne. Bringing a new and speculative expansion to this historical reading, Baykam constructs alternative scenarios regarding how Les Demoiselles d’Avignon could have evolved into a visual language had Picasso also seen and internalized the works of Mehmet Siyah Kalem, the 15th-century Turkestan artist. The works in the exhibition make these possibilities visible on both a plastic and intellectual plane.
Today, the female body remains one of the primary research areas in social sciences and art theory. Constantly re-addressed across a wide spectrum ranging from popular culture to academic discussions, this theme emerges in Baykam’s exhibition not just as a historical issue, but as a live debate that retains its timeliness and intellectual weight.
Paris, May 2025 – Debut Exhibition @Galerie S/Beaubourg Beyond a conventional installation approach, the presentation in Paris was structured with an arrangement that centered on the perceptual and spatial relationship established with the viewer. This approach aimed to reproduce the critical dialogue Baykam established with Picasso on a sensory ground as much as a historical one. For this project, Paris was not just a debut but the starting point of a multi-layered cultural line established between France, Barcelona, and Istanbul.
Istanbul, March 2026 – Current Exhibition @Piramidsanat The exhibition at Piramid Sanat is not a repetition of the conceptual framework established in Paris; instead, it is designed as a version where the series expands with new, never-before-exhibited works and deepens intellectually. Istanbul represents a conscious transition that distances Les Demoiselles d’Avignon from its historical center and moves it into the artist’s own space of production and thought.
In this context, Baykam on Picasso: “Les Demoiselles Revisited” takes shape as a cultural dialogue that began in Paris and entered a new phase in Istanbul, established between the past and present, the center and the periphery, historical reference and contemporary production. This artistic line extending from Picasso to Baykam invites the audience—through events to be organized parallel to the exhibition—not only to an exhibition experience but to a multi-faceted area of discussion where intellectual and historical layers are unfolded.
Book: Baykam on Picasso English / Turkish / French, 344 pages Opening with a layered introductory text by Prof. Dr. Hasan Bülent Kahraman, the book is shaped by Bedri Baykam’s comprehensive research paper, which conveys the journey of Les Demoiselles d’Avignon from Bateau-Lavoir to MoMA through anecdotes.
Prepared in three languages—English, Turkish, and French—the publication invites readers to rethink this breaking point in modern art history not merely as a historical phenomenon, but as an ongoing field of discussion today. Serving as a permanent source of reference, Baykam on Picasso is positioned as an international cultural memory that carries the dialogue initiated by the exhibition onto its pages.
Baykam on Picasso: “Les Demoiselles Revisited” can be viewed at Piramid Sanat until September 5, 2026.
For detailed information:
Elif Baş
Communications Director
