Today is a perfect opportunity for enjoying art made by female artists, and we want to say we love Dorothea Tanning.
We went to the Tate Modern to see the first large-scale exhibition of her work for 25 years.
In her 70 year career, Tanning produced paintings, soft sculpture, set designs and writing. Her dark and bonkers fairytale “Chasm” about a little girl, a lion and a pile of body parts is one of Alice’s faves!
Often called one of the founding Surrealists, Dorothea’s early paintings are gothic, sharp and hold a million little stories. As her career progressed she explored more abstract forms, explaining later that she went from looking at the dream world to being inside it. Her colourful billowing forms are vivid beyond the imagination, and her sculptures manage to dance the edge of horror and comedy. Our favourite was a sweet creature-like blob named “Tweedy”, who we’re thinking of adopting as our new mascot. But it’ll have to clean up after itself.
