Leonora Carrington and Ernst Fuchs

Two incredible surrealists  from the 20th century, both still living and working.

  British ex-patriot Leonora Carrington (born 1917) was influenced by the art (and friendship) of Max Ernst and Pablo Picasso, now lives in Mexico where she is widely known. From her earliest work in the 30's she was familiar enough with Surrealism to apply her hand to it, apply what she'd learned to the canvas. The result were paintings that were comical (and somewhat cartoonish), haunting and personal. Like Frida Kahlo with a more fantastic but less political design. Carrington's paintings remind me of the books by Anna Kavan, with their desolate landscapes and surreal mutations. She has inspired a myriad of artists, from "low-brow" painters to film makers like Alexandro Jodorowsky and writer/artist Roland Topor.

  I came across the work of Ernst Fuchs while I was reading about H.R. Giger. It is apparent that Mr. Fuchs was a great influence on the Swiss painter by the explicit corporeal designs and landscapes (Alex Grey has been influenced, respectfully almost plagiarized Fuchs work). The similarities are there, in the faces and intimacies that Giger would translate into his biomechanical paintings and structures (including the designs for the unseen Dune and Alien).