San Francisco, CA – April 2024: Weinstein Gallery proudly presents Leonor Fini: Portraits and Passagers, an exhibition of the artist's distinguished body of work in portraiture from 1939 to 1992. Exemplified in twenty-five carefully curated paintings and works on paper, this presentation explores the multifaceted nature of identity through Fini's discerning gaze.
Within a few years of her arrival in Paris in 1933, Leonor Fini (1907 – 1996) established herself as a force of the avant-garde, having a solo show at the Julian Levy Gallery and exhibiting with the surrealists in the International Surrealist Exhibition at the New Burlington Galleries, London and in Fantastic Art, Dada, Surrealism at The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Recognized & respected as a painter of surreal and somewhat unsettling scenes, Fini took a turn in the mid-1930s and began to take a strong interest in portraiture. This would produce some of her most compelling compositions and prove quite fortuitous as a source of income throughout her life.
From the elite and socially privileged she painted in Monte Carlo during World War II to the ghostly and enigmatic "Passagers series" of the 1980s and 1990s, Fini employed her remarkable skill as a classical painter with new, unconventional techniques of her own making. She breathed life into her subjects, capturing not just their physical likeness but also their innermost essence. Each portrait is a microcosm of the human experience, inviting viewers to consider the complexities of selfhood and subjectivity.
"We are honored to present Leonor Fini: Portraits and Passagers and hope to deepen the understanding and appreciation of Fini's contributions to the genre of portraiture," remarked owner Rowland Weinstein. "Fini's ability to imbue her subjects with psychological depth and existential resonance speaks to the enduring relevance of her work in contemporary discourse."
Leonor Fini: Portraits and Passengers is a rich tapestry of psychological introspection and socio-cultural commentary. The exhibition invites visitors to encounter the diverse characters that populate Fini's real and imagined worlds.
