Joanna Moorhead
Joanna Moorhead’s Surreal Spaces: The Life and Art of Leonora Carrington is a deeply engaging biography of one of the twentieth century’s most elusive and influential artists. The book traces Carrington’s remarkable life from her privileged upbringing in England, through her emergence within the Surrealist movement, to her later decades in Mexico, where some of her most accomplished work was produced. Moorhead presents Carrington not only as an artist, but as a figure shaped by displacement, rebellion, and creative resilience.
As Carrington’s cousin, Moorhead brings a rare intimacy to the narrative. This personal connection is balanced by thorough research, archival material, and critical insight, allowing the biography to move fluidly between lived experience and historical context. The result is a nuanced portrait that captures both Carrington’s complex personality and the formative events that informed her imaginative world. Moorhead’s account of Carrington’s early relationship with Max Ernst and her subsequent mental health crisis is handled with clarity and sensitivity, showing how these experiences fed directly into her artistic language rather than reducing them to mere biographical drama.
One of the book’s great strengths is its sustained attention to Carrington’s work itself. Moorhead offers close readings of key paintings, sculptures, and writings, situating them within Surrealism while highlighting Carrington’s distinctive mythological, feminist, and spiritual concerns. Generously illustrated, the book allows readers to follow Carrington’s evolving visual vocabulary across media. Particular attention is given to her later years in Mexico, a period often marginalised in earlier studies. Moorhead explores how Carrington’s immersion in Mexican culture and her relationships with artists such as Remedios Varo and Leonor Fini shaped a renewed phase of creative freedom.
Written in clear, accessible prose, Surreal Spaces speaks equally to specialists and general readers. Moorhead’s journalistic background lends the book narrative momentum without sacrificing scholarly rigour, supported by extensive notes and bibliography. More than a biography, the book situates Carrington within the broader Surrealist network, illuminating the movement’s collaborative and often volatile dynamics. The result is a compelling, authoritative study that restores Carrington to her full complexity and confirms her enduring relevance within Surrealism and feminist art history.
Joanna Moorhead has also curated the exhibition Leonora Carrington: Rebel Visionary, on view from 12 July to 26 October 2024 at Newlands House Gallery, Petworth, West Sussex.
