Produced on the occasion of the exhibition ‘Paula Rego: Letting Loose’, 22 Sep – 11 Nov 2023, Victoria Miro, London. This new publication features a text by Cecilia Alemani.

‘These paintings, perhaps more than any others, helped her to understand herself and those close to her.’ – Nick Willing

For Paula Rego the 1980s was a decade of creative transformation.

Moving away from a process of making collages – drawing and painting material that she would then cut up and arrange into sophisticated figurative puzzles – she began instead to engage with her childhood passion for painting as play.

Working rapidly and fluidly, Rego embraced freedom as methodology, inventing a cast of humans, animals and hybrid creatures that, in turn, empowered her to tell her own story.

The 108-page exposed-bound book is richly illustrated with 49 colour plates.

It is designed by Joe Hales and printed by Roy Killen.

All images courtesy the artist and Victoria Miro.