Crisis after crisis plagued the first half of the twentieth century, from wars and dictatorships to plagues and domestic upheaval. Through the turmoil, photographers Ilse Bing, Kati Horna, and Dora Maar committed to their craft. Amid disasters in their own neighbourhoods, these artists turned their lenses to the streets, portraying the calm in the chaos and capturing the more subtle fragmentations of society. Now, Huxley-Parlour in London puts their work together in Pathfinders, a show on view through September 23.
Living in Europe leading up to World War II, all three women faced serious disruption caused by the Nazi regime. Bing grew up in Germany and was living in Paris before being sent to an internment camp in 1940. Managing to flee to New York in 1941, Bing was able to return to safety and continued her photography for many years. Horna emigrated to Mexico to escape persecution, while Maar continued to live in Paris through Nazi occupation. Despite the struggles these women faced, they all lived to be over 85, fulfilling fruitful and successful careers.
The exhibition at Huxley-Parlour focuses on the photographers’ work capturing political instability despite their differing background and life paths. The images in this collection highlight the cracks in domestic life during such difficulties, and reflect a broader European Modernism that continued to shift fields in the arts.
Pathfinders is on view through September 23 at Huxley-Parlour, 45 Maddox Street, W1S 2PE, London.
Dora Maar, Pearly Kid - London, (Pearly Kid, London), 1934. Image courtesy Huxley-Parlour
Ilse Bing, New York, 1951. Image courtesy Huxley-Parlour
Kati Horna, Untitled, Leonora Carrington from the series Ode to Necrophilia, 1962. Image courtesy Huxley-Parlour