full press release

PRESS RELEASE February 2010
Surreal Friends: Leonora Carrington, Remedios Varo and Kati Horna
19 June to 12 September 2010
Pallant House Gallery in Chichester, West Sussex
presents a season of international exhibitions celebrating
the work of three leading women surrealists: the first
major UK exhibition for twenty years of the work of the
British painter Leonora Carrington (b. 1917 and the only
living artist of the group), alongside her close friends the
Spanish painter Remedios Varo (1908-1963) and the
Hungarian photographer Kati Horna (1912-2000).
The series of exhibitions will explore the extraordinary lives
of these women, friends in exile in Mexico in the 1940s, in
a celebration and reclamation of their works - many of which
are largely unknown in the UK today. Whilst each of their
stories provide a stand-alone portrait of the artist and their
times, they come together to form a startling insight into the
often problematic place of the women on the fringes of the
Surrealist movement.
Leonora Carrington, The House Opposite (detail) (1945)
Alongside these three major exhibitions the ‘Surreal Friends’
season at Pallant House Gallery will also include ‘Surrealism
and Sussex’ an exhibition drawing on the rich tradition of
surrealism in the county, including works patronised by the
famous surrealist benefactor and resident of West Dean
Edward James, and pieces by the photographer, model and
friend of Carrington Lee Miller, and Roland Penrose who
both lived in nearby Chiddingly; and an installation of art kites
in the Eighteenth century stairwell by the leading Mexican
artist Francisco Toledo, father of Dr Lakra; as well as an
extensive programme of events drawing on the key themes.
Mexico offered the women lasting friendships and freedom
to explore their art in a way that had not been possible in
Europe. Carrington found herself liberated from her English
upper-middle-class background and from the expectations
of the older male Surrealists whose circle she had been a part
of in Paris and New York. She began to develop her highly
distinctive style – continued to this day - complex paintings
and sculptures peopled with humans, animals, fabled
creatures and influenced by fairy-tales, myths and her
Catholic upbringing.
The Second World War brought the 26-year-old Leonora
Carrington, 35-year-old Remedios Varo and 31-year-old
Kati Horna together in Mexico City in 1943 after the
Mexican President, Lazaro Cardenas, opened the borders
to all refugees on the Republican side in the Spanish Civil
War and anyone of Spanish ancestry who had been
compelled to leave war-torn Europe .
Each artist was a Nazi target for different reasons:
Carrington because she was British and the lover of Max
Ernst, who was a ‘degenerate’ artist in the eyes of the Nazis;
Varo because she was a Republican in the Spanish Civil War
and the lover of the left-wing writer and poet Benjamin
Péret; and Horna because she was Jewish and also an active
INFORMATION | IMAGES | INTERVIEWS
Emma Robertson
Press & Marketing Officer
01243 770841
[email protected]
Pallant House Gallery
9 North Pallant
Chichester
West Sussex
PO19 1TJ UK
Charity No. 293093
Republican in the Spanish Civil War, documenting the event
through her photography alongside her friend and
contemporary Robert Capa.
Horna became a photojournalist for various newspapers
alongside her pursuit of personal photographic projects,
many of which were suffused with a Surrealist thread such
as the blackly comic ‘Ode to Necrophilia’ series; and Varo,
until her early death in 1963, produced meticulous paintings
inspired by the spirit and freedom of Mexico in which magic,
humour and illusion feature strongly.
This exhibition celebrates the enduring friendship between
the three women and explores the way they influenced each
other personally and artistically, bringing together key
works by all three women for the first time, many of which
have never been seen in public in the UK. The show highlights
the thematic similarities - particularly between Carrington
Tues-Sat 10am-5pm
Thurs 10am-8pm
Sun 12.30-5pm
closed Mondays
Adult £7.50, Child £2.30
Stdnt £4, Family £17
t. 01243 774557
e. [email protected]
w. www.pallant.org.uk
PRESS RELEASE February 2010
and Varo, such as the harmony of the universe, the origins of
creation, alchemy, the esoteric and the supernatural - whilst
providing a comprehensive reassessment of each of their
work.
The ‘Surreal Friends’ exhibition has been supported by:
Mexico Tourist Board, Foyle Foundation, the Almada
Foundation, the Edward James Foundation, Catherine
and Franck Petitgas, Keith Clark and the Embassy of
Mexico. Exhibition Sponsors are Mexicana and Gam.
Co-curator of the exhibition, Joanna Moorhead, awardwinning journalist and author said: “While so much is known
in the art world and beyond about the male artists Surrealism
spawned the contribution of the women involved requires
fuller attention. We hope this exhibition will aim to go some
way towards addressing this deficit.”
Stefan van Raay, Curator of the exhibition and Director of
Pallant House Gallery said: “It is fitting that the exhibition
should be being held at Pallant House Gallery in Chichester.
The family home of the millionaire art patron Edward James,
an eager collector and friend of Carrington, lies nearby at
West Dean. In addition, the Edward James Foundation based
at West Dean has close links with Las Pozas, the garden of
surreal follies created by James in Xilitla We are delighted to
be able to introduce these important artists to a UK audience
in this setting.”
Notes to Editors:
The exhibitions will include major loans from public and
private collections in Mexico, the US and the UK.
The programme of exhibitions has been timed to coincide
with the Mexican ‘Year of the Nation’ – the double
celebration of the Centenary of the Mexican Revolution
and the Bicentenary of Mexican independence which fall
this year. An extensive programme of events and related
exhibitions will accompany the exhibition. For more
information go to the new satellite website
www.surrealfriends.com
Surreal Friends is accompanied by a fully illustrated
publication with essays by Stefan van Raay, Joanna
Moorhead and leading Remedios Varo scholarTeresa Arcq
with contributions by Dr Sharon-Michi Kusunoki.
The exhibition Surreal Friends: Leonora Carrington,
Remedio Varo and Kati Horna will travel from Pallant House
Gallery to the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts Norwich
from 28 September to 12 December 2010.
INFORMATION | IMAGES | INTERVIEWS
Emma Robertson
Press & Marketing Officer
01243 770841
[email protected]
Pallant House Gallery
9 North Pallant
Chichester
West Sussex
PO19 1TJ UK
Charity No. 293093
Tues-Sat 10am-5pm
Thurs 10am-8pm
Sun 12.30-5pm
closed Mondays
Adult £7.50, Child £2.30
Stdnt £4, Family £17
t. 01243 774557
e. [email protected]
w. www.pallant.org.uk