VISIONARIES ENTER THE CANON

2023-07-11 17:50:43

VISIONARIES ENTER THE CANON

Mª Ángeles Cabré

In 2019, a small event took place at the Es Baluard Art Museum in Palma de Mallorca, actually not that small. Curated by Pilar Bonet, the exhibition “ALMA. Mediums and visionaries”. It brought together the work of seventeen artists born before the end of the First World War and who launched into creativity from a spiritual perspective, including the Catalan Josefa Tolrà and the British Madge Gill. It is worth mentioning that a first monographic exhibition of Josefa Tolrà was held in 2014 in Mataró and in 2022 her works were exhibited at the Venice Biennale, while in recent decades some solo exhibitions of Madge Gill have been held in various European cities.

Now these two visionaries have entered the MNAC (National Art Museum of Catalonia) through the front door, thanks to the work and grace of the same curator, Pilar Bonet, who on the opening day gave a talk in which she wanted to relate them with the Swedish artist Hilma af Klint, a pioneer of abstract art -before it existed as such-, who abandoned painting to dedicate herself to theosophy. This exhibition for two is the result of the work of the Visionary Women Art Research Group collective, which in 2021 held its first seminar. This international research group works to value these artists influenced by spiritualism, theosophy, anthroposophy… Generally self-taught, they approach art from some traumatic experience and their main instrument is drawing, as was the novel for their contemporary writers -incapable due to lack of preparation to cultivate other higher genres-. For them, art becomes curative, because it resides above all in the exploration of the inner world.

Both began to express themselves artistically late -Gill in their forties and Tolrà already in their sixties- and following the death of their children. While Tolrà is an explosion of colour, Gill takes refuge in black and white. He draws with black ink, soberly, and in addition to postcards and papers, he uses long rolls of untreated canvas, one of which we can admire in the exhibition. Tolrà, in turn, embroidered cloaks that were the extension of his works. And while Tolrà is a medium and draws in a trance state, Gill does so under the auspices of a spirit guide called Myrninerest, a kind of ghost that kept him company.

That Tolrà and Gill have entered the MNAC means that the visionaries finally enter the canon. From time to time the canon tree is shaken, some fruits fall and new ones grow. This is one of those moments of readjustment, renewal: the incorporation of these visionary artists is relevant, and also opens the door to new horizons, far from the vision of the alpha male artist, locked in his ivory tower, from which he competes with other alpha males just as vain as him. It is no coincidence that we have now begun to admire both the work of Leonora Carrington -who was recently on display at MAPFRE/Madrid- and also that of the Catalan Remedios Varo, because they connect with another way of understanding art: hers is a look that goes from the inside out and not from the outside in. Until four days ago they were rare, some outsidersNow they are considered great artists.

At the heart of the art of visionary artists is their status as women and that makes their contribution relevant. Their condition as women who do not compete with men, who do not aspire to occupy a place in history, who are content to develop their talent outside of schools, biennials, and awards. Artists who are despite the art system, despite the exhibition and traffic of egos. Women who make art because they need to and not because nobody expects them to. A substantial paradigm shift, which opens new doors to the rewriting of what we have up to now put in the balance, which with them leans a little more towards the essence of the artistic fact.

“The guided hand. Josefa Tolrà (1880-1959) – Madge Gill (1882-1961). Visionary women”, MNAC, Barcelona. Until November 5, 2023