We might not all have visions of giant Pekingese dogs supporting naked women like the late American painter Dorothea Tanning did. But then we didn’t all become part of a surrealist power couple by marrying Max Ernst in 1946 or pursue a career tapping into our subconscious desires until the ripe old age of 101.
Setting the tone for this dreamy show of paintings and drawings, which span 50 years, is a black-and-white photograph of Tanning taken by Robert Motherwell in 1945. She looks like a mythical high priestess. In her paintings and drawings, meanwhile, Tanning’s protagonist is a faceless female figure, either accompanied by an oversized dog – modelled on the artist’s own canine companion – or biomorphic forms.
A bit like hallucinations, the paintings drift between fantasies and nightmares. Multiple beings are set against a backdrop bursting with colour in ‘Même les jeunes filles (Even the Young Girls)’ (1966), yet there’s no clear indication of the action taking place: is this a joyous moment or a fray? ‘Notes for an Apocalypse’ (1978) certainly alludes to a sinister encounter taking place under a linen-covered table. Yet ‘Reality’ (1973-’93) looks like a hazy Sunday afternoon spent relaxing with a pet pooch.
Although Tanning’s career was often overshadowed by that of her husband, it’s heartening to know that she never allowed her creativity to be hindered. A concertina birthday card with drawings of hugging bodies is like a love token. Unfortunately, though, the majority of her sketches lack the intense ambiguity of the paintings. That’s when Tanning is at her most compelling, in large canvases of enthralling illusions. If you’re going to dream, you may as well dream big.
Freire Barnes