This book remains the definitive survey of the life and work of Surrealist artist Leonora Carrington (1917-2011).
Carrington burst onto the Surrealist scene in 1936, when, as a precocious nineteen-year-old debutante, she escaped the stultifying demands of her wealthy English family by running away to Paris with her lover Max Ernst. She was immediately championed by Andre Breton, who responded enthusiastically to her fantastical, dark and satirical writing style and her interest in fairy tales and the occult. Her stories were included in Surrealist publications, and her paintings in the Surrealists' exhibitions.
After the dramas and tragic separations of the Second World War, Carrington ended up in the 1940s as part of the circle of Surrealist European emigres living in Mexico City. Close friends with Luis Bunuel, Benjamin Peret, Octavio Paz and a host of both expatriate Surrealists and Mexican modernists, Carrington was at the centre of Mexican cultural life, while still maintaining her European connections.
Leonora Carrington: Surrealism, Alchemy and Art provides a fascinating overview of this intriguing artist's rich body of work. The author considers Carrington's preoccupation with alchemy and the occult, and explores the influence of indigenous Mexican culture and beliefs on her production.
Author(s): Susan L. Aberth
Edition: paperback
Publisher: Lund Humphries / Ashgate
Year: 2010
Language: English
Pages: 164
City: Farnham / Burlington
Tags: surrealism, leonora carrington, alchemy, art, painting, magic, occult, occultism, esotericism
Introduction: The magikal art of painting
The reluctant debutante
Ernst, Surrealism and the femme sorciere
Heaven and hell: wartime experiences
The alchemical kitchen: Domestic space as sacred space
Esoteric interests
Bibliography
Index