Published by Irish Museum of Modern Art/D.A.P. Edited and with introduction by Seán Kissane. Foreword by Sarah Glennie. Text by Dawn Ades, Teresa Arcq, Giulia Ingarao, Alyce Mahon, Gabriel Weisz. Interview by Hans Ulrich Obrist.
Leonora Carrington developed an iconography of myth, occultism and alchemy that has resonated strongly with younger artists over the past decade and a half. Incredibly gifted as a technician, Carrington was also possessed of a wild imagination, which she realized with great precision in her canvases. Her leading role as a Surrealist in Paris immediately prior to the war, and her life in Mexico City alongside fellow Surrealist expats Remedios Varo, Kati Horna and Edward James, have been the subject of increased interest and scholarly research. This is the first overview of her work to be published since her death in 2011 at the age of 94. Beautifully produced, with a faux-leather binding, a die-cut cover with foil stamping and 138 color plates (including two gatefolds), this volume looks at the many influences on Carrington’s many lives. It explores the Celtic imagery that enchanted her as a child, and the Mexican myths, imagery and stories that informed the second half of her career. Metamorphosis and transformation is an ongoing theme in Carrington’s hybrid world, populated with disconcerting hybrid creatures, elongated women and people metamorphosing into birds. This theme also emerges on a more intimate level in her self-portraits and portraits of friends and family. Writing was of equal importance as painting for Carrington, and this volume is supplemented with excerpts from unpublished manuscripts. Leonora Carrington (1917–2011) was born in Lancashire, England. In 1936, she saw Max Ernst’s work at the International Surrealist Exhibition in London, and met the artist at a party the following year. They became a couple almost immediately; when the outbreak of the Second World War separated them, Carrington was devastated, and fled to Spain, then Lisbon, where she married Renato Leduc, a Mexican diplomat, and escaped to Mexico, where she eventually established herself as one of the country’s most beloved artists.
Featured image is reproduced from Leonora Carrington.
PRAISE AND REVIEWS
The New York Times
Dana Jennings
The Irish-English artist Leonora Carrington (1917-2011) elbowed herself into Surrealist movement in quite realistic fashion: She ran off to Paris with Max Ernst. Her dalliance with her fellow Surrealist aside, though, Carrington had the goods. Drawing from the well of her Celtic soul, she created dreamscapes suffused with myth, alchemy and the occult.
The Giantess (The Guardian of the Egg) (circa 1947), is reproduced from Leonora Carrington, the first overview of this important figurative Surrealist's work to be published since her death in 2011 at the age of 94. Beautifully produced, with a faux-leather binding, a die-cut cover with foil stamping and 138 color plates (including two gatefolds), this volume looks at the many influences on Carrington’s many lives, exploring the Celtic imagery that enchanted her as a child and the Mexican myths, imagery and stories that informed the second half of her career. Seán Kissane quotes Abby McEwen in his catalogue essay: "Deeply stimulated by her reading of Robert Graves' The White Goddess in 1949, Carrington explored the cult of the Mother Goddess in paintings such as The Giantess, drawing out the psychic prowess of the Goddess, her regenerative life-giving properties, and her fertile creative powers. This Goddess-centered spirituality, benevolent and nurturing, emanates from the giantess: the birds flock from her robes, and between her palms she clasps a mysterious black egg, perhaps the source of new life. Painted in softly gleaming tones that recall the techniques of the Old Masters, The Giantess embodies Carrington's fascination with a mystical femininity and the enchantments of the cosmic world." continue to blog
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FORMAT: Hbk, 7.75 x 11.75 in. / 160 pgs / 138 color / 19 b&w. LIST PRICE: U.S. $55.00 LIST PRICE: CANADA $65 ISBN: 9781938922206 PUBLISHER: Irish Museum of Modern Art/D.A.P. AVAILABLE: 12/31/2013 DISTRIBUTION: D.A.P. RETAILER DISC: TRADE PUBLISHING STATUS: Out of print AVAILABILITY: Not available TERRITORY: WRLD Export via T&H
Published by Irish Museum of Modern Art/D.A.P.. Edited and with introduction by Seán Kissane. Foreword by Sarah Glennie. Text by Dawn Ades, Teresa Arcq, Giulia Ingarao, Alyce Mahon, Gabriel Weisz. Interview by Hans Ulrich Obrist.
Leonora Carrington developed an iconography of myth, occultism and alchemy that has resonated strongly with younger artists over the past decade and a half. Incredibly gifted as a technician, Carrington was also possessed of a wild imagination, which she realized with great precision in her canvases. Her leading role as a Surrealist in Paris immediately prior to the war, and her life in Mexico City alongside fellow Surrealist expats Remedios Varo, Kati Horna and Edward James, have been the subject of increased interest and scholarly research. This is the first overview of her work to be published since her death in 2011 at the age of 94. Beautifully produced, with a faux-leather binding, a die-cut cover with foil stamping and 138 color plates (including two gatefolds), this volume looks at the many influences on Carrington’s many lives. It explores the Celtic imagery that enchanted her as a child, and the Mexican myths, imagery and stories that informed the second half of her career. Metamorphosis and transformation is an ongoing theme in Carrington’s hybrid world, populated with disconcerting hybrid creatures, elongated women and people metamorphosing into birds. This theme also emerges on a more intimate level in her self-portraits and portraits of friends and family. Writing was of equal importance as painting for Carrington, and this volume is supplemented with excerpts from unpublished manuscripts.
Leonora Carrington (1917–2011) was born in Lancashire, England. In 1936, she saw Max Ernst’s work at the International Surrealist Exhibition in London, and met the artist at a party the following year. They became a couple almost immediately; when the outbreak of the Second World War separated them, Carrington was devastated, and fled to Spain, then Lisbon, where she married Renato Leduc, a Mexican diplomat, and escaped to Mexico, where she eventually established herself as one of the country’s most beloved artists.
