Manchester Art Gallery’s ‘Angels of Anarchy: Women Artists and Surrealism’ (2009) was a fascinating show. I’ve just been looking again at the catalogue this morning. I’d seen very few of the pieces before, except in books, so it was really worth going to.
The paintings in the show were certainly interesting, but for me, more on a conceptual and historical level rather than as paintings. The ‘stuff’ of the paint, and the formal qualities of the surrealist paintings I saw didn’t speak to me in the way I seem to need at the moment.
I was most struck by some stunning photographic work, particularly by Lee Miller, Francesca Woodman and my favourite, Claude Cahun (1894 – 1954).
