Leonora Carrington

Artist, feminist and avant-garde environmentalist, woman, mother, migrant, marked by mental illness and spiritual quest, Leonora Carrington left behind a legacy as extraordinary as it is radical.

Born in 1917 in Lancashire, England, Leonora Carrington forged her identity through travel, both internal and external. From Florence to Paris, from the South of France to Spain, and finally to Mexico, where she became a cult figure, her extraordinary path nourished a body of work at the crossroads of surrealism, mythology, and esotericism.

This exhibition, bringing together 126 works, is the first major exhibition in France devoted exclusively to Carrington’s work. It presents Carrington as a “Vitruvian Woman”: a total artist representing a model of harmony and innovation. Her creations merge human and animal, masculine and feminine, giving form to a world where metamorphoses and symbols respond to each other.

Through a chronological and thematic approach, as well as a unique presentation of her diverse visionary creations, the exhibition explores the artist's main themes and interests: her discovery of classical Italian art in Florence during her adolescence, her fascination with the Renaissance, her Celtic and post-Victorian origins, and her involvement in surrealism during her stay in France.

The exhibition thus highlights the exceptional legacy of this perpetual traveler, always in search of self-knowledge.

Exhibition co-organized by GrandPalaisRmn and Mondo Mostre

CURATORS

Tere Arcq – Art historian, specialist in Surrealism in Mexico, and author of numerous exhibitions and publications on women Surrealists.

Carlos Martín – Art historian, specialist in modern art and Surrealism, former curator at Fundación Mapfre (Madrid).