New London exhibition shows how Matisse used paper and scissors to rock the art world

LONDON – A huge new Henri Matisse show in London is many things — bold, colorful, exuberant. It’s also a great advertisement for the creativity of old age.

The 130 works displayed at Tate Modern were created in the last years of the French artist’s long life, when Matisse — by then in a wheelchair — turned to scissors and paper, creating a series of ever-bigger, bolder and more ambitious cut-outs.

The vibrant works include Matisse’s famous blue nudes — lithe-limbed female forms, cut in a single movement from blue-painted sheets of paper. The biggest pieces cover whole walls with dollops of vivid colour.

The artist’s great-granddaughter, Sophie Matisse, said Monday: “You can’t walk out of here without being in a good mood.”

The show opens Thursday and runs to Sept. 7.