The Invisible Painting - by Gabriel Weisz Carrington

About the Book

In this memoir, Gabriel Weisz Carrington, son of the renowned Surrealist artist Leonora Carrington, draws on remembered conversations and events to demythologise his mother and declare her not an icon or a goddess but, first and foremost, an artist.

Book Synopsis

In this memoir, Gabriel Weisz Carrington, son of the renowned Surrealist artist Leonora Carrington, draws on remembered conversations and events to demythologise his mother and declare her not an icon or a goddess but, first and foremost, an artist.

From the Back Cover

'An enchanting portrait of what it was like to grow up as Leonora's son -- here, too, as in some of her paintings, the domestic and the fantastical are tightly, wonderfully, intertwined.' Chloe Aridjis, author of Sea Monsters

'To spend time with this book is to spend time with Leonora Carrington - a pure delight from start to finish.'Viktor Wynd, author of The UnNatural History Museum

Since her death in 2011, the legendary Surrealist Leonora Carrington has been reconstructed and reinvented many times over. In this book, Gabriel Weisz Carrington draws on remembered conversations and events to demythologise his mother, revealing the woman and the artist behind the iconic persona.

He travels between Leonora's native England and adopted homeland of Mexico, making stops in New York and Paris and meeting some of the remarkable figures she associated with, from Max Ernst and André Breton to Remedios Varo and Alejandro Jodorowsky. At the same time, he strives to depict a complex and very real Surrealist creator, exploring Leonora not simply in relation to her romantic partners or social milieus but as the artist she always was.

A textured portrait emerges from conversations, memories, stories and Leonora's engagement with the books that she read. Using the act of writing to process and understand the death of his mother, the author has produced a moving and fascinating account of life, art, love and loss.

Review Quotes

'Gabriel Weisz Carrington's gentle, grieving memoir of his mother allows us a glimpse of their extraordinary life together in Mexico City. It is a life enchanted by art and anchored by love, a wild, irreverent love for all the world's creatures, passed on from mother to son, and now, from son to reader.'
Merve Emre, Associate Professor of English, University of Oxford

'Gabriel Weisz Carrington's intense memoir of his mother explores her inner life as both artist and writer. He reveals the range of her experiments with the magical and the esoteric as well as her profound and sometimes dangerous quest to plumb the mysteries of manifest creation.'
Marina Warner, writer and cultural historian

'To spend time with this book is to spend time with Leonora Carrington - a pure delight from start to finish.'
Viktor Wynd, author of The UnNatural History Museum

'An enchanting portrait of what it was like to grow up as Leonora's son - here, too, as in some of her paintings, the domestic and the fantastical are tightly, wonderfully, intertwined.'
Chloe Aridjis, author of Sea Monsters

'One can never know enough about Leonora Carrington. Through a wealth of fascinating vignettes, Gabriel Weisz captures the magic and mystery of her inimitable persona.'
Homero Aridjis, author of Eyes to See Otherwise

'A touching account of a continuous conversation, The invisible painting sheds light on the extraordinary life of Leonora Carrington from a witness able to share his lived experience and give emotional texture to her biography and creative processes.'
Francesco Manacorda, Artistic Director, V-A-C Foundation

'Utterly exhilarating and poetically accurate. A vital addition to Leonora Carrington studies. The invisible painting wilfully debunks existing myths around the official Carrington family narrative. The preface by Jonathan P. Eburne also paints a glowing portrait of Gabriel Weisz Carrington as someone "deliciously weird" - a creative intellectual in his own right.'
Catriona McAra, author of The medium of Leonora Carrington

'This is a moving portrait, tinged with palpable grief. Yet its abiding spirit is joyful: Leonora emerges as a character exuding the same magic and puckish vision that imbues her writing and painting.'
Francesca Wade, RA Magazine

About the Author

Gabriel Weisz Carrington was born in Mexico in 1946 to the painter Leonora Carrington and the photographer Emeric Weisz, better known as Chiki. His unofficial godmothers are the painters Remedios Varo and Alice Rahon. He teaches classes in literature and theatre at UNAM.