Once-in-a-lifetime Picasso sculpture exhibit at the MoMA

NEW YORK (WABC) -- Pablo Picasso is one of the most famous painters the world has ever known. But right now, at the Museum of Modern Art, it's his sculptures that are taking center stage.

It's being called a once-in-a-lifetime event - the chance to see the best collection of Picasso sculptures ever assembled in a single place. The exhibit fills an entire floor at the MoMA in midtown Manhattan.

"If you want to come see a Picasso like you've never seen him before, this is the place to do it," curator Anne Umland said.

Curators Umland and Ann Temkin spent more than three years getting Picasso's works from around the world.

"The amazing thing about Picasso that comes through this show especially, I believe, is his sense of experiment and his desire to invent," Temkin said.

As the catalog for the exhibition makes clear, Picasso loved to use common household materials in unusual ways. One instance was a sculpture where two kitchen colanders are welded together, making the head of a woman.

That piece and his iconic "Guitars" demonstrate how the artist's inspiration came from an unexpected source.

"The works in this show tell us very loud and clearly that Picasso's model for sculpture, wasn't European sculpture," Tempkin said. "Bbu was African."

This giant of the 20th Century revered African art for its power.

"A power that you can't really explain or identify maybe, but that you feel," Temkin said.

It is a feeling that goes right to your heart and soul.

"Here is a Picasso that everyone can relate to," Umland said.

The exhibit runs through February 7. For more information, visit MoMA.org.