Dark Angels

 

It pains me to admit that there's not a snowball's chance in hell of my getting up to Manchester to catch the Angels of Anarchy exhibition at the Manchester Art Gallery before it ends on January 10th -- so if any of you do get to see it, write and let me know if it's as fabulous as it looks. They've gathered works by 32 artists, including Remedios Varo (who inspired Anna Naverra in The Wood Wife), Leonora Carrington, Dorothea Tanning, Lee Miller, Frida Kahlo, Kay Sage, Leonor Fini and other wonderful Surrealist artists from several countries. Fortunately there is a book for us poor deprived souls who don't get to see their art in the flesh. (I also recommend Women Artists and the Surrealist Movement by Whitney Chadwick.) You'll find a good list of Surrealist links on the museum's website, and the opportunity to add to a Surrealist poem. And the Creative Tourist blog has a video of a conversation between Patricia Allmer, the exhibition's curator, and author Jeanette Winterson.

Below, some of my favorites by Fini & Carrington, Varo & Tanning, Sage & Kahlo:

 

(Other artists whose work particularly inspires me can be found on the Inspiration Board section of this website.)