Following on the heels of the season one Genius art that featured the iconic hair of Einstein, our challenge was to find an equally arresting image to capture the essence of season two’s subject, Pablo Picasso, without using any of his art or iconic signature. Tonally, our goal was to present Picasso as modern rebel, living a bohemian lifestyle, with a punk rock personality.

We explored a range of unique and interesting ideas using portraits, settings and varied art techniques associated with Picasso’s work. The final direction utilized paint swatches and strokes applied to Picasso himself, making the artist the art. This storytelling thread was then carried through to the extended character campaign, using varied crops and poses with bold hues of paint applied to each character.

The show premiered in April and the client was thrilled with the campaign.