Conroy Maddox discovered surrealism by chance in 1935 and spent the rest of his life exploring its potential through his paintings, collages, photographs, objects and texts. Inspired by artists such as Max Ernst, Oscar Dominguez and Salvador Dali, he rejected academic painting in favour of techniques that expressed the surrealistic spirit of rebellion. His creations soon began not only to challenge the conventional view of reality, but also to push pictorial expression to the limits of consciousness. He was even implicated in both scandal and controversy when, during World War II, Scotland Yard suspected him of fifth columnist sabotage and mounted a surprise raid to seize works thought to contain coded messages to the enemy. Maddox officially joined 'The Surrealist Group in England' in 1938.
Bibliography:
Silvano Levy, THE SCANDALOUS EYE. THE SURREALISM OF CONROY MADDOX, Liverpool University Press, 2003, 292 pages; ISBN: 0853235597