MUNICH.- From her time in Man Ray’s studio to her filming with Jean Cocteau to her collaboration with Pablo Picasso, Lee Miller’s photography has always been intimately linked to her personal relationships. This phenomenon culminated with her celebrated marriage to the British artist and poet Roland Penrose and the series of mutually inspired works the couple produced.
“Nothing is more fascinating than exploring the genesis of an artwork and the personal relationships that propelled it into being,” says °CLAIR Gallery director Anna-Patricia Kahn. “What makes this exhibit so interesting is that at its foundation is one of the great artistic love stories of the 20th century, the relationship between Miller and Penrose.”
The Out of the Ordinary exhibition explores the artistic process behind Lee Miller’s photography and the network of relationships that formed the canvas for her work. Alongside a selection of Miller’s most compelling images, the exhibition features a collection of photographs, etchings, and lithographs by Penrose.
°CLAIR Gallery presents Out of the Ordinary from May 19 to July 14, 2016 at Franz-Joseph-Strasse 10 in Munich.
Lee Miller was born in 1907 in Poughkeepsie, New York and first entered the photography world as a model for such photographers as Edward Steichen and Arnold Genthe. In 1929, she went to Paris to work with Man Ray and start her own photography. Over the course of her career, she gained acclaim for her fashion photography with Vogue, her World War II photojournalism, and her iconic portraits of artists such as Picasso. Miller died at Farley Farm House in the UK in 1977.
Roland Penrose was born in England in 1900. His mother was a portrait painter and his father was a successful banker. The combination of art and wealth would shape his life and he become both a recognized creator and collector. He oversaw the emergence of the Surrealist movement in England and was co-founder of the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London. His paintings and drawings are considered essential to understanding British Surrealism. He died in 1984.
