Jan 15, 2025

Exhibition: Surréalisme at the Centre Pompidou, Paris

Did you catch the exhibition Surréalisme / Surrealism at the Centre Pompidou, Paris? In case you missed it, in this blogpost we have gathered some of the highlights from the show – by women artists! Read on for more, and visit our Surrealism Bookshelf for all the Lund Humphries books featuring surrealist artists!

Surrealism was born 100 years ago, when the French poet André Breton published his Manifeste du surréalisme in 1924, and the exhibition pays homage to the key creative figures behind the movement. The entrance to the exhibition space was via the the jaws of Leviathan (above) – a replica of the street facade of the famous Cabaret de l'Enfer in Montmartre, founded in November 1892, where the Surrealists, led by André Breton, met during the 1920s and above which Breton's studio was housed.

Through this terrifying gateway the visitor entered the Labyrinth, and experienced a central “drum” housing the original manuscript of the Manifesto, on exceptional loan from the National Library of France. The room was an immersive experience, with a multimedia screening providing insight into the document's creation and meaning.  

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Dorothea Tanning (1910 - 2012)

Working as artist, writer and poet, Dorothea Tanning was a key figure in the history of modern art. An American artist, she discovered Surrealism very early in her career in New York: at the Museum of Modern Art's seminal 1936 exhibition, Fantastic Art, Dada and Surrealism.

Tanning is the subject of Victoria Carruthers' definitive monograph, Dorothea Tanning: Transformations (LH, 2020).

Birthday, 1942

"Am I a surrealist? Am I a sophist, a Buddhist, a Zoroastrian? Am I an extremist, an alchemist, a contortionist, a mythologist, a fantasist, a humorist? Must we artists bow our heads and accept a label, without which we do not exist? The underlying ideas of surrealism are still very much with me. They are in the backs of a lot of other minds too, even in those so young as to have known only the records, the hearsay, the debris. But I have no label except artist." – Dorothea Tanning, 1989

Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, 1943

"she had lived a creative life, undeterred by the social expectations of women in the 20th century. She was a trailblazer in so many ways" – Victoria Carruthers

Chambre 202, Hôtel du Pavot, 1970

"[Tanning's] foray into making cloth sculpture [...] only really occurred intensively from 1969-1970 and yet the body of work is truly an astonishing achievement. Hotel du Pavot (1970-73) is amongst her best known works and stands as a life size tableau installation" – Victoria Carruthers

Portrait of a Family, 1954

Read more of Victoria Carruthers' insights into Tanning's work in this interview on our Features blog!

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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.

Green Tea, 1942

After the Second World War, Carrington ended up as part of the circle of Surrealist European emigres living in Mexico City in the 1940s. 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.

Ulu's Pants, 1952

Leonora Carrington: Surrealism, Alchemy and Art by Susan L. Aberth is the definitive survey of the life and work of Leonora Carrington, based on in-depth interviews with the artist. It considers Carrington's preoccupation with alchemy and the occult, exploring the influence of indigenous Mexican culture and beliefs on her production.

"I always feel [Leonora's] presence near me - laughing, joking, admonishing, but more than anything prodding me to be more curious about everything magical taking place around me." - Susan L. Aberth

Read the full blogpost by Susan HERE

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Eileen Agar (1899-1991)

In 1928, Agar and her partner Joseph Bard moved to Paris, where she met the Surrealists André Breton and Paul Éluard. In 1930, Agar returned to England, and painted her first surrealist piece, The Flying Pillar, based on Breton's Manifesto. Agar said in her memoir that "Surrealism was in the air in France".

Angel of Anarchy, 1936-1940

"Agar, like many women after the First World War, broke with expectations of a life defined by marriage, children and comfortable home." – Louise Campbell, in an interview with LH about her book on artists' studios (read the interview HERE).

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Click on the covers for more information on each of the books mentioned above: