The Art Fund Helps Hunterian Acquire A Work About Surrealist Leonora Carrington |
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| Written by rubin |
| Monday, 14 September 2009 02:16 |
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Leonora Carrington (b. 1917) is perhaps best known for her involvement in the Surrealist movement during the late 1930s. Following the wartime internment of her lover, the artist Max Ernst, Carrington suffered a nervous breakdown and was later incarcerated in a Spanish mental institution and treated for mild psychosis. On recovery, she moved to Mexico in 1942, where she continues to live and work. Her paintings are influenced by fairy tales and Celtic lore.  When she was eighteen, Leonora was sent to the Chelsea School of Art
in London. After a few months at the Chelsea School, Carrington moved to
the recently opened Ozenfant Academy for Art in London. Ozenfant ran his
school like a drill sergeant, and was able to instill in Carrington the
discipline that she needed to harness her creative energy. In 1936, there
were two major Surrealist exhibitions in London: The First International
Surrealist Exhibition in June, and a solo exhibition of the work of Max
Ernst. Carrington learned about Surrealism and became particularly
interested in Ernst's work. When she met Ernst at a dinner party, it was
love at first sight. Of their love, art historian Susan Aberth says "it
was a profoundly transformational experience for Carrington, who,
literally overnight, was freed from a lifetime of familial restrictions
and was propelled into an artistic community and lifestyle that promised
the sorts of freedoms and creative expressions she had always longed for."
At age twenty, Carrington moved to Paris where she joined Andre Breton's
Surrealist ring and moved in with Ernst.Lucy Skaer said: "I was struck by how the world had changed during Carrington's life, and that her internal vision had remained more constant than reality had. My short film is a simple record of our meeting. I wanted to use the presence of Carrington within my installation as a kind of carte blanche to disassemble the logic of my own practice and move into unknown territory." Andrew Macdonald, Acting Director of The Art Fund, said: "This fascinating installation celebrates the life and work of a daring, avant-garde artist and muse, whilst also revealing the originality and creativity of Lucy Skaer herself. It is entirely fitting that a work by one of Glasgow’s leading young artists should enter the Hunterian’s permanent collections, where it will inspire new generations of artists." Mungo Campbell, Deputy Director of the Hunterian Museum & Art Gallery, Glasgow, said: "Leonora has emerged as a pivotal work in the development of Lucy’s career and it has been very exciting to work so closely with her over the last eighteen months to bring such a significant acquisition to fruition." Leonora exemplifies Lucy Skaer’s innovative, mixed media approach. Her work often utilises found imagery and photojournalistic reportage, whilst also combining large-scale drawings made using graphite as well as touches of enamel paint, ink and gold leaf. Skaer was born in Cambridge in 1975 and graduated from the Environmental Art Department of Glasgow School of Art in 1997. Based in Glasgow, she has recently spent extended time in Berlin, Amsterdam, New York and Basel. Lucy Skaer is one of the four artists nominated for this year’s Turner Prize, to be awarded in October 2009. Click on logo below to add this article to your favorite Social Website ~ |
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