British Indian LGBT+ ally and women’s rights activist Amar Singh founded Amar Gallery in London’s Fitzrovia to provide a platform for overlooked or underrepresented female, minority, and LGBT+ artists. In 2022 the National Portrait Gallery acquired a portrait of Singh by LGBT+ artist Howard Tangye.
Lee Sharrock spoke to Amar Singh about the launch exhibition Dora Maar: Behind the Lens, which features previously unseen photographs and photograms from the Dora Maar Estate. The exhibition is open to the public until the 18th August 2024 and coincides with the upcoming July 4th release of bestselling author Louisa Treger’s book, The Paris Muse, based on Maar’s relationship with Picasso, and Maar, Dora, a theatre production at Camden Fringe in August, which will be produced by the Amar Gallery, Nadia Jackson and Spiky Saul.
Dora Maar: Behind the Lens features Maar’s abstract photographs as well as portraits of Picasso, and an image of Picasso’s iconic ‘Guernica’ painting. Through the exhibition, Amar Gallery platforms Maar’s pioneering photography, which was admired by Henri Cartier-Bresson and Man Ray, and counteracts the biased view of Maar as merely a muse to Picasso and the famous ‘Weeping Woman’ depicted in his cubist paintings.
Lee Sharrock: What was the motivation behind opening an art gallery dedicated to platforming underrepresented or forgotten women and LGBTQI artists, and how do you select the artists for your exhibition programme?
Amar Singh: It’s good to break the mould, especially in the art world. I always planned on reopening Amar Gallery (which previously was in Islington) and then found this beautiful space in Fitzrovia after looking for quite some time. It is also important to champion underrepresented voices, and the Gallery’s programme will bring to the surface some of history’s most important artists who have been overlooked due to gender, race or sexuality.
‘Dora Maar: Behind the Lens’ features previously unseen photograms and photographs including Maar’s portraits of Picasso and an image of his infamous ‘Guernica’ painting in the studio. What’s the story behind the images and how come they have only just come to light?
The estate found these images in storage and sold them two years ago. The photograms and photographs are incredibly rare pieces of art history which truly shine a light on Dora Maar’s remarkable talent.
Tate Modern hosted a Dora Maar retrospective in 2019. Did the exhibition inspire you to exhibit Dora Maar at Amar gallery?
Absolutely and I am a proud patron of the Tate.
Dora Maar was a successful photographer when she met Picasso in 1935, running her own photography studio and exhibiting with the Surrealists. However, when she became his lover, he apparently discouraged her from photography, immortalising her as the ‘Weeping Woman’ in 1937 and eventually leaving her for Francoise Gilot. Maar ended up in a deep depression, had electroshock treatment and turned to Catholicism, never recovering from her relationship with Picasso. Why do you think so many successful and talented women artists were relegated to the role of ‘Muse’ while their partner’s sapped the limelight?
This is unquestionably due to the power structures which existed and still exist to an extent. Picasso was not only celebrated during his lifetime, he was treated like a God and worshipped by his entire circle. The interesting point with Dora is just how talented she was, how groundbreaking she was but even she was cursed due to Picasso’s deification.
Your exhibition coincides with the release of Louisa Treger’s book ’The Paris Muse’, which explores Maar’s relationship with Picasso, and a play titled ‘Maar, Dora’ at Camden Fringe in August. Can you give a bit of insight into the book and the play, and how they relate to the exhibition?
Louisa Treger, who wrote The Paris Muse, spent years researching Dora Maar. We connected and decided to launch Amar Gallery’s reopening exhibition together. The book is captivating. At the same time I thought “why stop there?” People need to know about Dora Maar. So the gallery is producing Maar, Dora, a play about the life of Dora Maar written and directed by Spiky Paul and Nadia Jackson.
You are a highly regarded activist campaigning for LGBTQI rights and other causes, and part of the proceeds from the exhibition will be donated to anti-trafficking organizations in India dedicated to the protection of women and children. Is there a relationship between your activism and the curatorial programme of the Amar gallery?
Yes, $25,000 this year will be going to support the anti trafficking of women & children across India. My work in LGBT+ rights & anti-trafficking does heavily influence the Gallery’s programme in the sense that we show overlooked artists and important works of art.
Dora Maar: Behind the Lens – 18th August 2024 Amar Gallery
The theatre play Maar, Dora produced and sponsored by Amar Singh will be showing 29th July – 25th August at The Camden Fringe.
