Penny Slinger

{{Short description|British-born American artist and author (born 1947)}} {{Infobox artist | honorific_prefix = | name =  | honorific_suffix = | image =  | image_size = | alt = | caption = | native_name = | native_name_lang = | birth_name =  | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1947|10|21}} | birth_place = London | death_date =  | death_place = | resting_place = | resting_place_coordinates =  | education = | alma_mater = Chelsea College of Arts<ref name=twsArtDaily/> | known_for = | notable_works = | style = Sexual mysticism<ref>Fan Zhong, April 24, 2014, W Magazine, [http://www.wmagazine.com/culture/eye-candy/2014/04/penny-slinger-exhibit/photos/slide/1 Penny Slinger’s Journey], Retrieved September 21, 2014, "...British artist Penny Slinger’s brand of sexual mysticism first ripened in swinging London during the ’60s..."</ref> | movement = Surrealism, Feminist surrealism<ref>BOUDICCA FOX-LEONARD, 23.08.2011, Twin Factory, [http://www.twinfactory.co.uk/index.php/tag/penny-slinger/ FANTASY WOMAN], Retrieved September 21, 2014, "... her photographic collages .... Slinger used Surrealism to penetrate the feminine psyche..."</ref> | spouse = {{marriage|Christopher Hills|1996|1997|end=died}} | awards =  | elected = | patrons = | memorials = | website = {{URL|http://pennyslinger.com}} }}

'''Penny Slinger''', sometimes '''Penelope Slinger''', is a British-born American artist and author based in California. As an artist, she has worked in different mediums,<ref name=twsArtDaily/> including photography, film and sculpture. Her work has been described as being in the genres of surrealism and feminist surrealism. Her work explores the nature of the self, the feminine and the erotic.<ref name=twsIndependent>CHRIS DARKE, 30 August 1998, The Independent, [https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/decline-and-falconry-1174985.html Decline and falconry], Retrieved September 7, 2014, "... Liaisons and working partnerships with sculptors Penny Slinger ..."</ref><ref name=twsNYTimes>HOLLAND COTTER, September 13, 2012, The New York Times, [https://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/14/arts/design/penny-slinger-an-exorcism-revisited-1977-2012.html?_r=0 Penny Slinger: ‘An Exorcism Revisited, 1977-2012’], Retrieved September 7, 2014, "...Born in England, Penny Slinger emerged from art school in 1969, ... Slinger has always pointed to European Surrealism as an influence,... worked in many mediums over the years, including sculpture and stage design..."</ref><ref name=twsNYT2>October 4, 2012, Museum and Gallery Listings for Oct. 5-11, The New York Times, [https://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/05/arts/design/museum-and-gallery-listings-for-oct-5-11.html Penny Slinger: ‘An Exorcism Revisited’ ], Retrieved September 7, 2014, "...The main piece is her still unpublished book of photo-collages and texts called “An Exorcism.”..."</ref>

== Work ==

=== Early Surrealist period 1969–1977 === Slinger attended Farnham (now West Surrey) College of Art from 1964 to 1966.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.farnhamherald.com|title=Penelope's Progress|date=August 8, 1969|work=Farnham Herald}}</ref> She studied at the Chelsea College of Arts in London where she made a series of short films that were later shown at Anthology Film Archives in 2019.<ref name=twsArtDaily/><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://anthologyfilmarchives.org/film_screenings/series/50378|title=Anthology Film Archives: Film Screenings|website=anthologyfilmarchives.org|access-date=2019-04-01}}</ref> She completed her degree with a First Class Honours Diploma in Art and Design in 1969.<ref name=twsAestheticaMagazine>Niamh Coghlan, 1 August 2012, Aesthetica magazine, [http://www.aestheticamagazine.com/surrealist-explorations Surrealist Explorations: A rediscovery of the feminist artist penelope slinger presents a timely reappraisal of her work for the first time in nearly 40 years], Retrieved September 9, 2014, "...Slinger studied in London....."</ref> She was accepted into the Royal College of Art Film post graduate course, but did not take it up.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk//blu-rays-dvds/other-side-underneath|title=The Other Side of the Underneath|website=British Film Institute|language=en|access-date=2019-04-26}}</ref>

While writing her thesis on the collage books of Max Ernst, she met Sir Roland Penrose who became her patron for many years and introduced her to Max Ernst.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://42ruefontaine.com/index.php?n=Main.RolandPenrose|title=Naranja {{!}} Main / RolandPenrose|website=42ruefontaine.com|access-date=2019-03-28}}</ref> Penrose brought Slinger's art to the attention of Mario Amaya, who included her sculpture in the exhibition ''Young and Fantastic'' at the Institute of Contemporary Art in 1969.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com|title=Young and Fantastic|last=Lynton|first=Norbert|date=July 31, 1969|work=Arts Guardian|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19970401061120/http://www.theguardian.com/|archive-date=April 1, 1997|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Slinger worked in photographic collage, producing her first book ''50% The Visible Woman.'' Published in 1969, the book continued her practice, started in her student days, of using herself as a muse and consists of a photo collage overlaid with her poetry. When published in 1971, Rolling Stone said, ''<nowiki/>'"This book will become as important on your bookshelf as Sgt. Pepper is on your record rack."''<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/|title=50% Visible Woman, a Book of Collage/Poems|date=22 October 1973|magazine=Rolling Stone}}</ref>

In 1970 Slinger and filmmaker Peter Whitehead filmed and photographed at Lilford Hall, a decaying mansion in Northamptonshire, England. Although their film project remained unrealised, the photos formed the basis of Slinger's surreal journey of self-discovery told in the style of a photo romance. The result, ''An Exorcism'', was published in 1977 with a grant from Roland Penrose and Lee Miller's Elephant Trust.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thelondonmagazine.org/|title=New Series: Penny Slinger|last=Ross|first=Alan|date=November 17, 1978|work=London Magazine}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://artimage.org.uk/news/2017/penny-slinger-reclaiming-the-feminine/|title=Penny Slinger: Reclaiming the feminine : Artimage|website=artimage.org.uk|date=27 September 2017 |language=en|access-date=2019-04-01}}</ref> The ''Lilford Hall'' footage also resurfaced and was shown at Blum and Poe Gallery, Los Angeles 2014, as part of ''History Is Now'' at the Haywood Gallery, 2015, and at Anthology Film Archives, and Fortnight Institute, New York, 2019.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/venues/hayward-gallery/past-exhibitions/history-now|title=History is Now: 7 Artists Take On Britain|website=Southbank Centre|language=en|access-date=2019-04-26}}</ref>

In 1971 Slinger had her first solo exhibition at Angela Flowers Gallery, London, featuring assemblages of lifecasts of her head and transformed dolls. Art critic Peter Fuller, '"Penny Slinger's work is a documentation of the role of one woman in a world still dominated by concepts of male superiority....she emerges as one of the most active and socially relevant artists around."<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Fuller|first=Peter|date=May 1971|title=In The Galleries: Penelope Slinger|url=https://fineartconnoisseur.com/|journal=Connoisseur}}</ref>

Slinger focused on surrealism in the 1960s and the 1970s to "plumb the depths of the feminine psyche and subconscious," according to a review in ''ArtDaily'' magazine.<ref name="twsArtDaily">Liz Gangemi, April 19, 2014, Art Daily, [http://artdaily.com/news/69522/British-born-artist-Penny-Slinger-s-first-solo-exhibition-in-Los-Angeles-opens-at-Blum---Poe#.VA9-7fBX9pA British-born artist Penny Slinger's first solo exhibition in Los Angeles opens at Blum & Poe], Retrieved September 9, 2014, "...Penny Slinger, The Surprised Tin Opener, 1969/2014. C-print...."</ref> She wrote and illustrated numerous publications.<ref name="twsArtDaily" /> She staged photographs, sometimes using her own body, to create "hauntingly surreal collages" for a series which she titled ''An Exorcism''.<ref name="twsArtDaily" /> She photographed herself naked to explore ideas relating to dreams, desire, sex, female liberation, surrealism and memory.<ref name="twsAestheticaMagazine" /> Some of her art focused on the Arawak peoples of South America and the Caribbean.<ref name="twsNYT3">1994, The New York Times, [https://web.archive.org/web/20140908021921/http://www.nytimes.com/movies/movie/178795/Visions-of-the-Arawaks/overview Visions of the Arawaks (1994)], Retrieved September 7, 2014, "...Artist Penny Slinger depicts Arawak culture in daily life, ceremonial rituals, body art, and dream landscapes. ..."</ref>

Reviewer Kate Kellaway in ''The Guardian'' described her work as a "grotesque and militant contribution" with a "loud message about silence."<ref name=twsGuardian>Kate Kellaway of The Observer, 26 September 2009, The Guardian, [https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2009/sep/27/angels-anarchy-surrealism-women-artists Angels of Anarchy: Women Artists and Surrealism], Retrieved September 7, 2014, "...In Penny Slinger's grotesque and militant contribution...."</ref> As an author, with Nik Douglas, her book ''Sexual Secrets'' sold 100,000 copies,<ref name=twsNYT4>D.J.R. Bruckner, July 31, 1983, The New York Times, [https://www.nytimes.com/1983/07/31/books/reading-and-writing.html READING AND WRITING], Retrieved September 7, 2014, "...A few years ago he issued ''Sexual Secrets: the Alchemy of Ecstasy'' by Nik Douglas and Penny Slinger which is in its 13th printing and has sold 100,000 copies. ..."</ref> and sold over a million copies in 19 translations. In 1977 she published "The Secret Dakini Oracle", a deck of cards for divination. With Douglas and Bhaskar Bhattacharya, she wrote ''The Path of the Mystic Lover - Baul Songs of Passion and Ecstasy'' in 1993, and provided 84 drawings for it. Slinger's work was part of the ''Angels of Anarchy'' exhibit at the Manchester Art Gallery in 2009.<ref name=twsGuardian />

=== Theater, film and feminism 1971 -1973 === In 1971 Slinger joined the first British all women theatre troupe, ''Holocaust'', directed by Jane Arden because she said she wanted to contribute her talents to something bigger than herself, and the intentions of the group felt in alignment with her own resolve to delve deeply into and express the unearthed realms of the feminine psyche. They performed ''A New Communion for Freaks, Prophets and Witches'' at the Open Space Theater London and at the Edinburgh Festival in 1971.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.screenonline.org.uk/people/id/1364950/index.html|title=BFI Screenonline: Arden, Jane (1927–82) Biography|website=www.screenonline.org.uk|access-date=2019-04-26}}</ref>

Slinger created masks for the surrealist play ''Lying Figures'' by Francis Warner, premiered at Edinburgh Festival 1971. She was design collaborator with Carolee Schneemann on ''The Four Little Girls'' by Pablo Picasso, at the Open Space Theater London, 1971.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Wood|first=Nicholas|date=2006-11-01|title=Off-Centre Stages: Fringe Theatre at the Open Space and the Round House 1968–1983 (review)|url=https://muse.jhu.edu/article/205462|journal=Modern Drama|language=en|volume=49|issue=3|pages=411–413|doi=10.1353/mdr.2006.0088|s2cid=191517850|issn=1712-5286|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

In 1972 Slinger participated in the controversial cult classic, ''The Other Side of the Underneath'', directed by Jane Arden and shot on location in Wales. It was the only British feature film to be directed by a woman in the 1970s. Slinger had a major performing role and co art directed the movie.<ref>{{Cite journal|date=1972|title=Penny Slinger|journal=Image Magazine|pages=4–9}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=http://archive.org/details/Continental_Film_Review_1969-05|title=Continental Film Review (1969 05)}}</ref> The British Film Institute DVD booklet for the film said, "The Other Side of the Underneath isn’t a work to love. It is a work to admire, to puzzle through and to wrestle with."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.amysimmons.co.uk/the-other-side-of-the-underneath/|title=The Other Side of the Underneath|last=Simmons|first=Amy|date=April 30, 2015}}</ref>

In the same year Slinger opened her second solo exhibition at Angela Flowers gallery, ''Opening''. The invitation depicted her as a wedding cake, the exhibits consisted of a series of table tops and mouthpieces, as well as the Bride’s Cake photo series. The exhibition's themes of food and female eroticism can be seen in subsequent Feminist art. Laura Mulvey stated in ''Spare Rib'', ''<nowiki/>'"Is there feminine phantasy?...Penny Slinger's recent exhibition provided graphic images of phantasy that only a woman could have produced', 'Opening showed us how powerfully a woman is able to transform Surrealism."''<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Mulvey|first=Laura|date=1973|title=The Hole Truth|journal=Spare Rib|volume=17}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|title=Opening|last=Duff|first=Ewan|date=July 11, 1973|work=Arts Guardian}}</ref>

=== Tantra ===

==== Tantra Publications ==== In 1975 Jane Arden introduced Penny Slinger to Nik Douglas. They subsequently published a number of books together, including:

=====Mountain Ecstasy===== Mountain Ecstasy, published in 1978, contains 64 full-color collages and poetry which combines Penny's Surrealist roots with Tantric symbolism.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Westcheck|first=Carl L.|date=Jan 1979|title=Mountain Ecstasy|journal=Gnostica|volume=49}}</ref>

=====Secret Dakini Oracle===== Published in 1977 as a divination card deck and in 1978 as a book.<ref>{{Cite journal|date=August 1978|title=The Secret Dakini Oracle|journal=Honey & Vanity Fair}}</ref>

=====Sexual Secrets, The Alchemy of Ecstasy===== Sexual Secrets, The Alchemy of Ecstasy was co written with Nik Douglas and published in 1979. It contains over 600 drawings by Penny Slinger. It has 19 language translations and an anniversary edition in 2000.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Smith|first=Howard|date=December 17, 1979|title=Scenes|journal=The Village Voice|volume=51}}</ref>

=== Tantric themes === Slinger had been working on using the Xerox copying machine to make mono prints of her face and body since she was teaching at Portsmouth College of Art in 1973. By 1976 she had manifested a group of images using this technique called Scrolls which were her response to the ‘Chakra Man’ motif in classical Tantric Art.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Copy Art|last=Firpo|first=Patrick|publisher=Putnam Pub Group|year=1978|isbn=0399900160|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/copyartfirstcomp0000firp}}</ref> During the mid seventies Slinger's three-dimensional work included a series of doll house like sculptures which blended Surreal and Tantric themes.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Hale|first=Sheila|date=September 1977|title=Penny Slinger|journal=Harpers & Queen}}</ref> In 1977 she exhibited the work at Patrick Seale Gallery, London, and at the Mirandy Gallery, London.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Photsynthesis|last=Blakeston|first=Oswell|date=September 1977|work=Sunday Telegraph}}</ref>

In 1982 she had a retrospective exhibition of her Tantric work called, ''Visions of Ecstasy'' at Visionary Gallery, New York.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Fielder|first=Elizabeth|date=June 1982|title=Visions of Ecstasy|journal=Whole Life Times|volume=19}}</ref>

=== Caribbean and Arawak Art 1980–1994 === In 1980 Slinger and Douglas moved to the Caribbean, first to Tortola, British Virgin Islands, then to Anguilla, where she lived until 1994. She decided to use her talents to contribute to the local culture.<ref>{{Cite journal|date=1992|title=Amerindians: Studies of a Lost People|journal=What We do in Anguilla|pages=14}}</ref> Her work with archaeology led her to create a series of over 100 paintings, pastels and block prints depicting Arawak people, the indigenous, original inhabitants of the islands, and their lifestyle.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Penny Slinger Sets High Standard for Future Exhibitions|date=March 21, 1992|work=The Caribbean Herald}}</ref> She also made a series of detailed drawings of Arawak artifacts.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Pierres|first=Susan|date=January 1994|title=Nik Dougas and Penny Slinger|journal=Caribbean Travel and Life|pages=58–63}}</ref> During this time Slinger opened her own gallery, created a series of historical murals for permanent installation at the airport and designed two sets of stamps.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Slinger|first=Penny|date=Christmas 1988|title=The Historical Murals for the New Airport Terminal|journal=Anguilla Life Magazine|volume=1}}</ref>

Her film '''''Visions of the Arawaks''''' was released in 1994 and consisted of a poetic and artistic journey into the spirit of a people through Penny’s painting and pastels.<ref>{{Citation|title=Visions of the Arawaks (1994)|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/visions_of_the_arawaks|language=en|access-date=2019-06-03}}</ref>

=== Northern California and the Divine Feminine (1994–2017) === Slinger lived with Dr. Christopher Hills in Boulder Creek, California, until Hills’ death in 1997. Slinger continued to live on the northern California property until 2017, dedicating the property to the arts, inviting the creative people of the region to participate in many events she hosted over the years.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Visionary State|last=Davis|first=Erik|publisher=Chronicle Books|year=2006|isbn=0811848353|pages=222–224}}</ref> In this period Penny worked in photography, video and audio. In 2010 she published the '''''64 Dakini Oracle''''' which depicted archetypal forms of the Divine Feminine in digital collage.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Ansell|first=Robert|date=September 2014|title=The Alchemy of Liberation|journal=Abraxas|volume=6|pages=17–30}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Swann|first=Eliza|title=Interview with Penny Slinger|journal=Carla Magazine|volume=8}}</ref> During this time she also made a series of large assemblages utilizing life casts of her own body in relationship to many items she had collected and interacted with entitled '''''The Alchemy of Stuff'''''.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Gión|first=Eduardo|title=Penny Slinger|journal=ODDA}}</ref>

=== Dior (2019–2022) === In 2019, Slinger was invited by Maria Grazia Chiuri, creative director at Dior, to transform the historical building at 30 Avenue Montaigne, Paris for the last fashion show before the building underwent renovation as part of the Dior Megastore.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-07-01 |title=Dior's Elaborate Fall 2019 Couture Set Took Three Weeks to Build |url=https://fashionweekdaily.com/dior-fall-2019-couture-runway-set/ |access-date=2022-09-13 |website=Daily Front Row |language=en}}</ref> With the help of her creative partner Dhiren Dasu and Dior's creative team, she covered the walls, floors and ceilings of the interior with digital collages representing the elements, made four life size 3D modeled sculptures and hung a large lenticular composed of women's faces on the facade of the building.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-07-01 |title=Dior's Elaborate Fall 2019 Couture Set Took Three Weeks to Build |url=https://fashionweekdaily.com/dior-fall-2019-couture-runway-set/ |access-date=2022-09-13 |website=Daily Front Row |language=en}}</ref> The project represented an artistic alchemy of the edifice.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-07-02 |title=Dior blends functionality, fire, and feminism with the help of Penny Slinger and Agnès Varda |url=https://www.documentjournal.com/2019/07/dior-blends-functionality-fire-and-feminism-with-the-help-of-penny-slinger-and-agnes-varda/ |access-date=2022-09-13 |website=Document Journal |language=en-US}}</ref> Slinger also designed the last look of the haute couture show, a gold leafed wearable doll house based on 30 Avenue Montaigne.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-07-03 |title=A Feminist Artist Was Behind Dior's Wearable Golden Doll's House |url=https://www.vogue.co.uk/article/dior-couture-dolls-house-dress |access-date=2022-09-13 |website=British Vogue |language=en-GB}}</ref> In 2021/2022, Slinger collaborated with Dior again to produce a gold handbag for the Lady Dior collection, also based on the historic Parisian facade of the Dior headquarters.<ref>{{Cite web |title=DIOR reopens Paris store at Av. Montaigne with facilities including an exhibition space, restaurants and a private suite |url=https://cpp-luxury.com/dior-reopens-paris-store-at-av-montaigne-with-facilities-including-an-exhibition-space-restaurants-and-a-private-suite/ |access-date=2022-09-13 |language=en-US}}</ref>

=== Pandemic Art (2020) === Slinger created a series of photo collages during the Pandemic (2020) entitled ''My Body In a Box''. This series documents the personal and collective feelings of this period and featured her own naked body as part of her current practice addressing ageism.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Penny Slinger: My Body in a Box |url=https://museemagazine.com/features/2021/1/18/penny-slinger-my-body-in-a-box |access-date=2022-09-13 |website=Musée Magazine |date=28 January 2021 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=AnOther |title=My Body in a Box by Penny Slinger |url=https://www.anothermag.com/art-photography/gallery/11112/my-body-in-a-box-by-penny-slinger/1 |access-date=2022-09-13 |website=AnOther |language=en}}</ref>

=== Rediscovery of early works === 2009 marked a renewed interest in Penny’s early work after her inclusion in the '''''Angels of Anarchy''''' exhibition at Manchester Art Museum and in '''''The Dark Monarch''''' '''''– Magic & Modernity in British Art''''' at Tate St. Ives in 2009.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Angels of Anarchy|publisher=Prestel|year=2009|isbn=978-3791343655}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=The Dark Monarch: Magic and Modernism|publisher=Tate Publishing|year=2009|isbn=978-1854378743}}</ref>

'''''Penny Slinger-Out of the Shadows''''', 2017, is a documentary by Richard Kovitch focusing on Penny’s life and work in the 1960s and 1970s, revealing the pioneering nature of her work.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Murillo|first=Aimee|date=May 2018|title=The Feminine Mystic|journal=OC Weekly|pages=24}}</ref>

From 2018 Penny has resided in Los Angeles where she has been working on a series of large format prints of digital collages utilizing her own body as a body of experience. This series is engaged with her practice to use her body as her muse at this senior age to confront ageism which she considers the next bastion of feminism.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Burden|first=Zora|title=Art, feminism, magic: an interview with Penny Slinger (part one)|journal=The Wild Hunt}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Die Kraft de Alters|pages=297, 305, 307}}</ref>

==Personal life== Penny Slinger was partners with filmmaker Peter Whitehead from 1969 to 1972.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Jahn|first=Pam|date=January 2015|title=Daddy: Interview with Peter Whitehead|journal=Electric Sheep}}</ref>

She was partners with Tantric scholar Nik Douglas 1975–1993. They traveled together to Asia in the mid-1970s, moved to New York then the Caribbean from 1980 to 1993.<ref name=":0" />

Slinger was married to microbiologist Christopher Hills, the co-discoverer of the protein-rich plankton spirulina and co-founder of the University of the Trees in Boulder Creek, California. Hills died in 1997 at age 70.<ref name="Christopher Hills Jr">{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-02-10-mn-27264-story.html|title=Christopher Hills Jr.; Natural Foods Pioneer, Microbiologist|date=February 10, 1997|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=15 January 2010|location=Los Angeles}}</ref>

Since 2001, Slinger has worked with her creative partner, multidisciplinary artist Dhiren Dasu.

== Exhibitions ==

=== Solo exhibitions === 2022 '''50% Unboxed''', Pace Gallery, New York, NY, USA

2021 '''50/50, Blum & Poe Gallery''', Los Angeles, CA, USA

2019 '''Penny Slinger: Tantric Transformations''', Richard Saltoun Gallery, London, UK

2018 '''''Inside Out''''' Fortnight Institute, New York, NY, USA

2017 '''''Sex Work''''', (solo booth, @ Frieze Art Show), Blum & Poe Gallery, London, UK

2015 '''''Self Impressions''''', Riflemaker, London, UK

2015 '''''Penny Slinger''''', Blum and Poe Gallery, Tokyo, Japan

2014 '''''Penny Slinger''''', Blum and Poe Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, USA

2012 '''''Exorcism Revisited''''', Broadway 1602 Gallery, New York, NY, USA

2012 '''''Hear What I Say''''', Riflemaker Gallery, London, UK

2011 '''''A Photo Romance''''', Riflemaker Gallery, London, UK

1993 '''''Arawak Renaissance''''' '''''– The Tribute Continues''''', New World Gallery, Anguilla.

1992 '''''Amerindians- Studies of a Lost People''''', Cotton Gin Art Gallery, Anguilla

1982 '''''Visions of Ecstasy''''', Visionary Gallery, New York, NY, USA

1977 '''''Secrets''''', Mirandy Gallery, London, UK

1977 '''''Inner Vision''''', Patrick Seale Gallery, London, UK

1973 exhibition '''''Opening''''', Angela Flowers Gallery, London, UK

1971 solo exhibition at the Angela Flowers Gallery, London, UK

=== Group exhibitions === 2022 '''A Feminist Avant-Garde''', Les Rencontres de la Photographie, Arles, France

2022 '''Punk is Coming''', MOKA Westport, USA

2022 '''Black Book Presents: A Woman's Right to Pleasure''', Sotheby's Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, USA

2021 '''Scarlet Women''', Atelier Melusine, Chateau Mareuil, La Trimouille, France

2021 '''Oh Marilyn''', Gazelli Art House, London, UK

2021 '''The Dream of the Fisherman's Wife''', Ruttkowski 68, Paris, France

2020 '''Some of the Hole''', Simian gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark

2020 '''LESS Festival of Contemporary Collage''', Viborg, Denmark

2020 '''The Botanical Mind: Art, Mysticism and the Cosmic Tree''', Camden Arts Center, London, UK

2020 '''Tantra: Enlightenment To Revolution''', British Museum, London, UK

2020 '''The Enchanted Interior''', Guildhall, London, UK

2020 '''Bodily Objects''', Richard Saltoun Gallery, London, UK

2019 '''House of the Sleeping Beauties''', Sothebys S/2, London, UK

2018 '''Visible Women''', Norwich Castle Museum & Art Gallery, Norwich, UK

2018 '''The Hired Grievers''', curated by Jason Dodge, Galeria Madragoa, Lisbon, Portugal

2018 '''''Virginia Woolf:: An Exhibition Inspired by Her Writings''''', Tate St Ives, Cornwall, UK

2018 '''''The House of Fame''''', convened by Linder, Nottingham Contemporary, Nottingham, UK

2018 '''''Worship of Sticks and Stones''''', Anat Ebgi, Los Angeles, CA, USA

2018 '''''Paris Photo''''', Richard Saltoun Gallery, Grand Palais, Paris, France

''2017 '''Dreamers Awake''''', White Cube Gallery, London, UK

''2017 '''Women House''''', Monnaie de Paris, Paris, France; traveled to National Museum in the Arts, Washington D.C., USA

2017 '''''The Beguiling Siren is Thy Crest''''', The Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw, Poland

''2017 '''Room''''', Sadie Coles, London, UK

2016 '''''The One Fest Goa''''', India

2016 '''''Inaugural Exhibition''''', Broadway 1602, New York, NY

2016- 2017 '''''Feminist Avant-Garde of the 1970s''''', works from the Verbund Collection, Photographers' Gallery, London

2015 '''''Photo London''''', Somerset House, London, Riflemaker Booth

2015 '''''Art 15''''', Olympia, London

2015 '''''History Is Now''''', Hayward Gallery, London.

2015 '''''Thea Porter - 70s Bohemian Chic''''', Fashion & Textile Museum, London.

2015 '''''The Feminist Avant-Garde of the 1970s''''', Hamburger Kunsthalle, Hamburg

2014 '''''Woman''''', Bozar Centre for Fine Arts, Brussels.

2014 '''''Paris Photo''''', Paramount Studios, Los Angeles.

''2014 '''Cry Me a River''''', Etoile Polaire Lodge #1, New Orleans, LA

2014 '''''I:MAGE 2014- Travelling with Unfamiliar Spirits''''', Fulgur Esoterica, London

2013 '''''Lips Painted Red''''', Trondheim Kunstmuseum, Norway

2011 '''''Threat''''', Broadway 1602, New York.

2009 '''''The Dark Monarch''''', Tate Gallery, St Ives

2009 '''''Angels of Anarchy''''', Manchester Art Museum

1993 '''''Presentes Caraibes - 500 Years of Amerindian History''''', Fort Delgres, Guadeloupe.

1992 '''''Addressing the Forbidden''''', Edinburgh Art Festival.

1982 '''''Imaginary Images''''', Floating Foundatiopn of Photography, New York.

1982 '''''Rated X''''', Neikrug Gallery, New York

1982 '''''Erotic Art Photography''''', Jacques Baruch Gallery, Chicago.

1978 '''''Surrealism and Company in this Decade''''', Camden Arts Center, London.

1978 '''''Metamorphosis''''', University of Cambridge, England.

1974 '''''Nude and Naked''''', Nicholas Treadwell Gallery, London

1973 Exhibited in the 12th Bienal de São Paulo

1969 '''''Young and Fantastic''''' Institute of Contemporary Arts, London, UK

=== Upcoming Group Exhibitions === 2022 '''Joan Didion, What She Means''', Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA, USA

2022 '''Sensitive Content''', Unit Gallery, London, UK

2022-2023 '''The Horror Show''', Somerset House, London, UK

2023 '''Body Poetic''', Giant, Bournemouth, UK

== Publications ==

* '50% The Visible Woman', collages and poetry by Penelope Slinger, Empty Eye, 1971. {{ISBN|978-0903136006}} * An Exorcism<nowiki>''</nowiki>—a book of surreal photo-collage by Penny Slinger, with introduction by Sir Roland Penrose, Villiers publications, 1977. * 'The Book of Matan' Automatic Writings from the Brink of Eternity edited by Nik Douglas, illustrated by Penny Slinger, Spearman Books, 1977. {{ISBN|978-0854352142}} * 'Mountain Ecstasy' - full color collages and poetry by Penny Slinger and Nik Douglas, Dragons Dream, 1978. {{ISBN|978-9063325015}} * 'Secret Dakini Oracle' divination card deck by Penny Slinger and Nik Douglas, US Games and Systems 1977. {{ISBN|978-0913866894}} * 'Secret Dakini Oracle' book by Nik Douglas and Penny Slinger, Destiny Books, 1979. {{ISBN|978-0892810055}} *'Sexual Secrets: The Alchemy of Ecstasy' by Nik Douglas and Penny SLinger, including more than 600 line drawings by Ms. Slinger. 1979, Destiny Books. {{ISBN|978-0892810109}}. *'The Pillow Book' by Nik Douglas and Penny Slinger, Destiny Books, 1981. {{ISBN|978-0892810192}}, {{ISBN|978-0892810376}} *'The Erotic Sentiment in the Paintings of India and Nepal', Nik Douglas and Penny SLinger, Inner Traditions, 1989. {{ISBN|978-0892812080}} *'The Erotic Sentiment in the Paintings of China and Japan', Nik Douglas and Penny Slinger, Inner Traditions, 1990. {{ISBN|978-0892814954}}, {{ISBN|978-0892813797}} *'The Path of the Mystic Lover—Baul Songs of Passion and Ecstasy' by B. Bhattacharya with Nik Douglas and Penny Slinger: Cover and 84 original drawings by Penny, Destiny Books, 1993. {{ISBN|978-0892810192}} *Anniversary edition of 'Sexual Secrets-The Alchemy of Ecstasy', by Nik Douglas and Penny Slinger, Destiny Books, 2000. {{ISBN|9780892818051}} *'Tantric Dakini Oracle', boxed set cards and book, by Nik Douglas and Penny Slinger, Destiny Books, 2001. {{ISBN|978-0892811373}}

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== * [http://www.pennyslinger.com Penny Slinger's website]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Slinger, Penny}} Category:Living people Category:American contemporary artists Category:American draughtsmen Category:Draughtswomen Category:American surrealist artists Category:American women essayists Category:American essayists Category:1947 births Category:21st-century American women Category:People from Boulder Creek, California