A Berlin collection that has drawn more than 1.5 million visitors on an international tour arrives in Miami today. Pérez Art Museum Miami opens Picasso–Klee–Matisse: Masterpieces from the Museum Berggruen, bringing nearly 100 works to South Florida through February 28, 2027.
The exhibition pairs paintings, drawings, watercolors and sculpture from Berlin’s Museum Berggruen and the Berggruen family collection with selected works from PAMM’s permanent collection. It’s an opportunity to see defining works of European modernism alongside pieces by Latin American modern masters Diego Rivera, Joaquín Torres-García and Wifredo Lam.
The works to look for
Picasso’s La Lecture (Woman Reading), from 1953, is among the exhibition’s featured works. The painting reflects the artist’s continuing interest in portraiture and the expressive possibilities of color and form. Another Picasso highlight, Portrait de Jaume Sabartés (1904), offers a window into his Blue Period.
Paul Klee’s Landschaft in Blau (Landscape in Blue), from 1917, brings watercolor, pencil, pen and ink together in a compact, layered scene. The gallery also features Henri Matisse’s Éléments végétaux (Vegetal Elements), a 1947 cut-out, and Intérieur d’Atelier à Nice (In the Studio in Nice), from 1929.
Other works to watch for include Paul Cézanne’s Portrait de Madame Cézanne, dating to around 1885, and Alberto Giacometti’s signature elongated sculptures. Together, the highlights span nearly a century of experimentation in form, color and perspective.
A new kind of Modern art presentation for PAMM
Rather than grouping everything by artist or date, the exhibition moves through themes: still life, portraiture, interiors, landscape and Cubism. That approach encourages visitors to notice the connections between artists and the questions they explored across different media.
The show also marks two milestones for PAMM. It is the museum’s first exhibition devoted exclusively to Modern masterpieces, and the first time its largest galleries have been dedicated entirely to Modern art. Co-curators Natalie Zimmer of the Museum Berggruen and Maritza M. Lacayo, PAMM associate curator, bring the collections together in a presentation that connects European and Latin American modernism.
The story behind the collection
The exhibition carries the name of Heinz Berggruen, the Berlin-born art dealer and collector who assembled the collection over more than four decades. Berggruen fled Nazi Germany in 1936 and later built close relationships with artists including Picasso. His collection was acquired by the German state in 2000 and is now housed at the Museum Berggruen, part of Berlin’s Neue Nationalgalerie and the Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz.
The museum has been closed for major renovation, and highlights from its collection have toured internationally since 2022, reaching audiences in Japan, China, Europe, Australia and the United States. The Miami presentation is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities. Lead support comes from Kenneth C. Griffin and Griffin Catalyst; Griffin is also funding Carnegie Mellon University’s Wynwood campus and was the subject of South Florida Digest coverage of $3 billion in regional commitments this October.
Plan a visit
PAMM is open Thursday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. General admission is $18 for adults and $14 for seniors, students and youth ages 7–18; children 6 and under enter free. Admission includes the exhibition. The museum offers free general admission every Thursday after 5 p.m., so tonight is a chance to see the galleries without an admission charge.
An opening-evening Art Talk is scheduled for 7:30 to 9 p.m. tonight. It is free, but an RSVP is required; seating is limited and first come, first served. Check the exhibition page for details before heading to the museum.
The exhibition remains on view through February 28, 2027, giving Miami visitors and residents several months to explore this meeting of modern art histories.
