Joseph Cornell: Wanderlust

For a man who never really left his home in Queens, New York, Joseph Cornell conjured a sense of adventure and discovery in his brilliantly intricate shadow boxes. Considered a reclusive figure, the self-taught artist was an avid collector. Whether it was everyday knick-knacks, pebbles from the beach or maps and prints from second hand stores, Cornell amassed a vast array of ephemera that he would later collage into magnificent feats of mind-blowing creation. He was intrigued by cultural pursuits and very enthusiastic about opera singers and ballet dancers, many of who appear in his work. The Victorian upbringing his parents gave him including trips to Cooney Island, and seeing Harry Houdini, instilled a playful inquisitive approach to life that Cornell channelled into his intriguing assemblages. This show, the first London survey of this elusive artist in 35 years, presents 80 works that feature important shadow boxes, early and rarely seen later collages and his extraordinary foray in filmmaking. Never wanting to be categorised by any art movement of the late twentieth century, Cornell truly thought out of the box as his mesmerising works prove.

READ OUR PREVIEW OF THE SHOW HERE