Desmond Morris

Desmond Morris: The Last Surrealist

The Directors of The Redfern Gallery are delighted to announce the opening of Desmond Morris: The Last Surrealist, a selection of recent oil paintings and works on paper by Desmond Morris.

"The famous zoologist and best-selling author, Desmond Morris, is also the last surviving artist of the Surrealist movement. Whilst studying for his degree in zoology, at the University of Birmingham, Morris started making drawings under the microscope, of biological organisms. This indirectly inspired Morris to create, in the words of David Attenborough, a "menagerie of creatures that were all his own". Despite Morris' knowledge of biology, these bizarre creatures are purely invented and irrational. The artist explains that "they evolve on the canvas, and they belong in their own dimension". Indeed, he is keen to stress that the drawings are a chance to let his "imagination run free"."