A Tale of Mother’s Bones: Grace Pailthorpe, Reuben Mednikoff and the Birth of Psychorealism

Poster for A Tale of Mother's BonesA Tale of Mother’s Bones: Grace Pailthorpe, Reuben Mednikoff and the Birth of Psychorealism (October 2018-January 2020) was an exhibition that toured between three UK venues, De La Warr Pavilion, Camden Arts Centre, and Newlyn Art Gallery and the Exchange. Grace Pailthorpe and Reuben Mednikoff began collaborating in 1935. They spent decades of their lives developing a creative process that combined surrealism with psychoanalysis. A Tale of Mother’s Bones was the most significant presentation of their work in almost 20 years, and it drew on new archival research that reunited their paintings/drawings with their psychoanalytic interpretations. The exhibition was curated by Centre co-Director Hope Wolf, working with curators and directors at the venues, Rosie Cooper, Martin Clark, and Gina Buenfeld. A book was published to accompany the exhibition, and the Centre for Modernist Studies ran a conference and reading groups to explore some of the artists’ unpublished writings.

 

 

 

 Installation view of A Tale of Mother’s Bones: Grace Pailthorpe, Reuben Mendikoff and the Birth of Psychorealism

Installation view of A Tale of Mother’s Bones: Grace Pailthorpe, Reuben Mendikoff and the Birth of Psychorealism

 Installation view of A Tale of Mother’s Bones: Grace Pailthorpe, Reuben Mendikoff and the Birth of Psychorealism

Images: Installation view of A Tale of Mother’s Bones: Grace Pailthorpe, Reuben Mendikoff and the Birth of Psychorealism; De La Warr Pavilion. Photo: Rob Harris; Camden Arts Centre, Photo: Luke Walker; Newlyn Art Gallery and the Exchange, Photo: Steve Tanner

De La Warr Pavilion

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Camden Arts Centre

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Newlyn Art Gallery and the Exchange

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