BE INSPIR ED
As the largest ever retrospective of Paula Rego’s work opens at Tate Britain, her friends, family and famous fans pay homage to this fearless painter’s art, influence and approach to life
‘I stumbled across Paula Rego’s work as a teenager. She busted the myth that grace and beauty were incompatible with danger and power. I am fortunate to live with her Nursery Rhymes images (1989) and the challenging work Amélia’s Dream (1998), which reveals two ballerinas ever-so-gently reaching inside the body of a dog.
‘Rego invites me to live in that inspiring and unsettling threshold between restless sleep and wakefulness. I cannot remember a time before I was captive to her visions: I have swallowed them whole somehow, so that they have influenced the way I move, the way I think, even the way I dream.’
CATE BLANCHETT, ACTRESS
‘Although Paula’s almost 20 years older than me, we were both part of an emerging group of figurative artists in Eighties London, so we have shared a lot. Once, we were gossiping at dinner after a show, and she looked over at an art dealer and said, “I wouldn’t trust him as far as I can spit,” which was just so Paula… Funny and poignant and spot-on. She works bloody hard. We’re both Royal Academicians now – I became one before Paula did,
she was always dragging her feet, so it was a great celebration when she finally decided to join. She wasn’t a joiner, and you respect her wishes. Why wouldn’t you?
She’s a complete individual.’
EILEEN COOPER, ARTIST
‘I first saw and fell in love with Paula’s work in the 1990s: it
was just brilliantly impressive painting, the sort that I never dreamt I would be able to show. In tackling topics such as abortion, depression and rape head-on, she’s very inspirational for women, who really want to talk about these things – but people rarely do, especially contemporary visual artists. Paula goes to places nobody else dares, but her facility with paint means she’s able to make even such difficult
subjects extremely beautiful.’
VICTORIA MIRO, REGO’S GALLERIST
‘I have a print of Ride a
Cock-Horse from Paula Rego’s 1989 Nursery
Rhymes series hanging in my kitchen. I am really
drawn to childhood traditions, as these are the ones we forget, and I like the way Rego takes and
tears them apart, portraying them in a way no one ever has before.’ HANNAH WEILAND, FASHION DESIGNER
‘My first encounter with Paula, in the 1980s, was unforgettable: she was jaw-droppingly beautiful, elfin proportioned, dark blazing eyes, expressive hands flying in different directions. She was a trailblazer for confessional art. I am inspired by her bravery, and her commitment to telling the truth.’
HANNAH ROTHSCHILD, WRITER
‘Most of my own work, acting and writing, has been in comedy.
Mum has a dark sense of humour, and I think what has rubbed off on me most is her way of getting the characters in her paintings to do the least obvious, most contradictory, visual thing. She always sidesteps cliché –
an essential in comedy. A show at Tate is as good as it gets, so this is really exciting. A favourite picture of mine in the exhibition is Love (1995), which I was the model for. I’m wearing the tweed suit Mum got married
in. I find it really moving.’ VICTORIA WILLING, ACTRESS
AND REGO’S DAUGHTER