IIthell Colquhoun: Genius Of The Fern Loved Gully by Amy Hale
Hello there,
The first substantial, full colour critical biography of
surrealist-occultist Ithell Colquhoun. 'Ithell Colquhoun: Genius Of The Fern
Loved Gully' by Amy Hale is currently available to purchase at Tate Britain
to coincide with this major exhibition of her work. On display until 19th Oct
2025.
This landmark exhibition of over 140 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. The exhibition debuted at Tate St
Ives in February 2025 before arriving at Tate Britain.
‘At 10 Years Old I Imagined Christ As A Hermaphrodite… I Fused
The Red Hearted Jesus With The Blue Cloaked Mary And Made A God With
Breasts.’
After decades of neglect, the British Surrealist and occultist Ithell
Colquhoun's unique vision and hermetic life have generated enormous interest
amongst historians and practitioners of art and magic. In this, the first
in-depth biographical study of Colquhoun and her work, Amy Hale examines the
magical and cultural confluences that shaped her imaginative life and artistic
vision.
Rejecting the hectic social expectations and magical orthodoxies of
London's art and occult scenes, Colquhoun retreated to Cornwall, where, at
the price of relative cultural obscurity, she pursued a life of profoundly
dedicated spiritual and artistic enquiry. As a result, her visual and written
works have only recently begun to receive the recognition they deserve as daring
experiments in magical art, autobiography and esoteric feminism.
As the influential role of occult ideas in the history of art becomes ever
clearer, Colquhoun's work is long overdue a fresh consideration. 'Genius
of the Fern Loved Gully' balances engaging biography with historical
erudition and critical insight into her art and writing.
