Ithell Colquhoun: Bonsoir - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1849768307 ISBN 13: 9781849768306

Publisher: Tate Publishing, 2022

Synopsis

Ithell Colquhoun (1906–1988) was a force of nature; a prolific artist, essayist, novelist, and poet whose overriding concerns were with spiritual transcendence and union with the divine energy that animated all matter. For her, surrealism, provided a method and framework to explore not only the deepest reaches of her own mind, but also to connect with other beings and dimensions. We are currently witnessing a coalescence of interests that are thrusting Colquhoun’s oeuvre into the spotlight: a renewed interest in surrealism, a new critical commitment to amplifying the historical contribution of women artists, and crucially an interest in esoterically motivated art. Tate holds a vast collection of her works, ephemera and writings in it’s archive from which this collection of collage artworks is taken and published for the first time ever. In 1939 Ithell Colquhoun imagined Bonsoir as a Surrealist film. She constructed a storyboard using photographs cut from popular magazines. It has remained unpublished until now. Employing Surrealist techniques, this collection of collages narrate a moment in time in which convention and ambiguity collide in the exploration of desire.

About this title

About the Author

Matthew Gale is an independent art historian and curator. He was formerly Senior Curator at Large, Tate Modern. Dr Amy Hale is an Atlanta-based writer, curator, and critic, ethnographer and folklorist, speaking and writing about esoteric history, magic, art, culture, women and Cornwall. She writes and speaks on topics as diverse as psychogeography, Pagan religious tourism, colour theory, and politics in modern Paganism. Hale has written widely on the surrealist and occultist Ithell Colquhoun, and in 2009 she received a grant from the Paul Mellon Foundation for her research. As a gallery writer and essayist, she has contributed essays for Tate, Burlington Contemporary, The Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, Camden Arts Centre, Art UK, and Spike Island.

From the Back Cover

- A previously unseen and unpublished piece of work by surrealist artist and occultist, Ithell Colquhoun.
- A rare and unique selection of collage works produced in a beautiful, opulent publication with texts from leading experts on Colquhoun to contextualise the work.

Ithell Colquhoun (1906-1988) was a force of nature; a prolific artist, essayist, novelist, and poet whose overriding concerns were with spiritual transcendence and union with the divine energy that animated all matter. For her, surrealism, provided a method and framework to explore not only the deepest reaches of her own mind, but also to connect with other beings and dimensions. We are currently witnessing a coalescence of interests that are thrusting Colquhoun's oeuvre into the spotlight: a renewed interest in surrealism, a new critical commitment to amplifying the historical contribution of women artists, and crucially an interest in- esoterically motivated art. Tate holds a vast collection of her works, ephemera and writings in it's archive from which this collection of collage artworks is taken and published for the first time ever.
In 1939 Ithell Colquhoun imagined Bonsoir as a Surrealist film. She constructed a storyboard using photographs cut from popular magazines. It has remained unpublished until now. Employing Surrealist techniques, this collection of collages narrate a moment in time in which convention and ambiguity collide in the exploration of desire.

Edition details

• Publisher: Tate Publishing
• Publication date: 2022
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1849768307
• ISBN 13: 9781849768306
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 64
• Editor: Gale Matthew, Hale Amy