The British painters Edward Burra and Ithell Colquhoun were almost exact contemporaries, but not often mentioned in the same breath. While Burra is best known for his colourful scenes of urban life, Colquhoun’s paintings tend towards the esoteric, with abstractions of human figures and organic forms in geometric, rural or occasionally subterranean settings. But the pairing of their work in these parallel exhibitions at Tate Britain draws out some surprising similarities (13 June–19 October). Both painters experimented with watercolour, grew increasingly interested in landscapes and had an affinity with Surrealism. Compare, for example, Burra’s Dancing Skeletons (1934) with Colquhoun’s Dance of the Nine Opals (1942): in both paintings, strange, brightly coloured figures cavort beneath a deep grey sky. The shows are arranged chronologically, allowing viewers to get a sense of the artists’ development – particularly after the Second World War, when Burra began to explore the possibilities of landscape more fully and Colquhoun found herself increasingly drawn to the occult.
Find out more from the Tate’s website.
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Dance of the Nine Opals (1942), Ithell Colquhoun. Hepworth Wakefield. © Spire Healthcare/Noise Abatement Society/Samaritans
Dancing Skeletons (1934), Edward Burra. Tate, London. Courtesy Lefevre Fine Art, London; © The Estate of Edward Burra
Minuit Chanson (1931), Edward Burra. Private collection. Courtesy Lefevre Fine Art, London/Bridgeman Images; © The Estate of Edward Burra