Ithell Colquhoun: Between Worlds

The first major exhibition of visionary artist Ithell Colquhoun and the first major accompanying publication on the artist. One of the most radical artists of her generation, Colquhoun was an important figure in British Surrealism during the 1930s and 1940s. An innovative writer and practicing occultist, Colquhoun charted her own course, investigating surrealist methods of unconscious picture-making and fearlessly delving into the realms of myth and magic. Colquhoun explored the possibilities of a divine feminine power as a path to personal fulfilment and societal transformation. Her understanding of the world as a connected spiritual cosmos brought her to Cornwall, where she deepened her creative explorations, inspired by the region’s ancient landscape, Celtic traditions, and sacred sites. This landmark exhibition and publication of over 200 artworks and archival materials traces Colquhoun’s evolution, from her early student work and engagement with the surrealist movement, to her fascination with the intertwining realms of art, sexual identity, ecology and occultism. It culminates in a room dedicated to Colquhoun’s interpretation of the Taro deck – her most accomplished fusion of her artistic and magical practice. Explore Colquhoun’s enthralling, multi-layered universe through writings, drawings, paintings, early theatre projects and mural designs, many of which have never been shown publicly before.

About the Author :
Katy Norris is Exhibitions and Displays Curator at Tate St Ives, a researcher and writer specialising in women artists, feminism and social reform movements in Britain during the early twentieth century. She formerly held the position of Curator at Pallant House Gallery where she devised collection displays and temporary exhibitions. She has worked as editor and advisor for the Modern Women Artists book series published by Eiderdown Books and has contributed her research to the British Art Network’s Women Artists Subgroup. Norah Bowman is Chair of Interdisiplinary Studies and Professor in the English Literature Department at Okangan College in British Columbia. Victoria Ferentinou is Assistant Professor at the University of Ioannina teaching art theory and history of art. 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, Correspondences Journal, Camden Arts Centre, Art UK, Arusha Galleries, Heavenly Records and Spike Island, Bristol. She is an exhibition consultant for the upcoming exhibition on Colquhoun at Tate St Ives. Giles Jackson is Curator, Interpretation at Tate St Ives. Victoria Jenkins is a Warwickshire-born, London-based artist and author and is an archivist at Tate. Her work concerns the relationship between art, the occult and popular culture. Bharti Kher is an artist working across painting, sculpture and installation. Tai Fenix Kulystin is a writer and magical practitioner. Jacqui McIntosh is Curator at the College of Physic Studies and previously Curator of The Drawing Room. Alyce Mahon is Reader in Modern and Contemporary Art History at the University of Cambridge. Astrida Neimanis is Canada Research Chair in Feminist Environmental Humanities at the University of British Columbia Okanagan. Sarah Pucill is a film artist and producer. Gwenno Mererid Saunders is a Welsh-Cornish musician. Tai Shani is the Turner Prize winning artist working across performance, film, photography, experimental texts and sculptural installations. Emma Sharples is a researcher of modern British art and visual culture. She has presented her research at the Paul Mellon Centre, Tate Britain and the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, and in 2022 co-convened the British Art Network-funded seminar ‘Curating Magic’. Alongside her doctoral work, she is currently undertaking an AHRC-funded Exhibitions and Displays placement with Tate St Ives. Richard Shillitoe is an author and specialist on the life and work of Ithell Colquhoun. Linder Sterling, known as Linder, is a renowned artist, acclaimed for her photomontages, radical feminism and performances.