9/11/24
Enchanted Alchemies: Magic, Mysticism, and the Occult in Art
Lévy Gorvy Dayan, London
1 October – 21 December 2024
“That which is below is as that which is above, and that which is above is as that which is below.” It is with this quote, originally from the medieval Hermetic text of the Smaragdine Table, but cited in an article by the British surrealist painter and occultist Ithell Colquhoun (1906-88), that the Hayward Gallery’s chief curator, Rachel Thomas, begins her essay in the publication to accompany Lévy Gorvy Dayan’s current exhibition, Enchanted Alchemies: Magic, Mysticism, and the Occult in Art. I would like to use it here, too, since this concept of above and below, and a mirroring between the two, runs like a thread through the works in the show.
There has been renewed interest of late in the intersections between art, magic, alchemy and occultism, and, in the centenary year of André Breton’s proposal, in his surrealist manifesto, that art serves as a magical act, invoking mysteries beyond the visible world and turning the mundane into something wondrous, this exhibition takes up the challenge of looking afresh at these connections, with a clever curation interweaving old and contemporary works, so that there are many fascinating juxtapositions noted and conversations sparked.
Read my full review here