An activist art gallery championing overlooked female, minority, and LGBT+ artists
The opening launch exhibition Dora Maar: Behind the Lens will showcase exclusive photographs and photograms from the Dora Maar Estate which will be open to the public 16th June – 18th August 2024.
The private preview opening on the 15th of June 2024 is being hosted by British Indian LGBT+ ally and women’s rights activist Amar Singh and renowned British author Louisa Treger.
The exhibition on is a celebration on of Maar’s life and is in conjunction with the upcoming 4th July release of bestselling author Louisa Treger’s book, The Paris Muse, based on Maar’s affair with Picasso, and the theatrical production Maar, Dora which is performing at Camden Fringe in August and is produced by Amar Gallery, Nadia Jackson & Spiky Saul.
Louisa Treger states “Dora Maar is mostly known for being Picasso’s Weeping Woman as though tears are the only interesting thing about her. Amar Gallery and my novel put her at the heart of the story and give her the recognition she deserves.”
Dora Maar: Behind the Lens presents surrealist works of Maar as well as photographs of Picasso and Guernica, the celebrated an-war pain ng for which Maar was the only official photographer. The exhibition also revisits Maar’s erasure throughout art history. As a photographer she was a pioneer, admired by the likes of Henri Car er-Bresson and Man Ray. Her position as Picasso’s lover obscured her artistic talent, which extended far beyond photography, and included poetry and painting.
Arriving in Paris at the age of 19, Maar studied at the progressive Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Academy Julian, and Ecole de Photographie. Here she refined her distinctive black and white photographic style. She soon established herself as a prominent photographer associated with surrealism.
Part of the proceeds from Dora Maar: Behind the Lens will go towards supporting Shakiti Vahini & We Power, two notable an-trafficking organisations in India which serve for the protection of women & children in India.
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