Silvano Levy

Silvano Levy is an academic specializing in surrealism. He has published on Belgian surrealism with studies on René Magritte, E.L.T. Mesens and Paul Nougé. His research on The Surrealist Group in England began with a film on Conroy Maddox and the book Conroy Maddox: Surreal Enigmas (1995), while a wider interest in the movement led to the editorship of Surrealism: Surrealist Visuality (1997). Levy has curated national touring exhibitions of the work of Maddox and Desmond Morris, and has published a monograph on the latter entitled Desmond Morris: 50 Years of Surrealism (1997), which was followed by the enlarged re-edition Desmond Morris: Naked Surrealism (1999). Subsequent books on Morris include Lines of Thought: The Drawings of Desmond Morris (2008) and three volumes (2000, 2012 & 2020) of an analytical catalogue raisonné spanning eight decades. Silvano Levy's monograph on Maddox, ''The Scandalous Eye. The Surrealism of Conroy Maddox'', was published by Liverpool University Press in 2003. The year 2015 saw the publication of Decoding Magritte. Further studies cover Sheila Legge, Dalla Husband, Toni del Renzio, André Breton, Dina Lenković, Jean-Martin Charcot, Mary Wykeham and Birmingham surrealism. Dr Levy is editor of Surrealist Bulletin and has held academic posts at the University of Liverpool, Newcastle Polytechnic, the University of Bath, the University of Hull and Keele University, where he was promoted to Senior Lecturer in French in 1998 and then to Reader in 2005.

Papers

 * 2023 ‘René Magritte and Belgian Surrealism’, Osher Institute, University of California San Diego
 * 2019 ‘Conflict in the Wake of Surrealexeter 1967’, University of Exeter
 * 2018 ‘Surrealist Biological Distortion’, St. Hugh’s College, Oxford
 * 2017 'Conroy Maddox: Outside In Inside Out’, Aberystwyth University
 * 2016 'Magritte the Saboteur', Waterstones, Piccadilly, London
 * 2014 'Surrealism and the Street', Barber Institute, University of Birmingham
 * 2014 'Surrealism', Abbot Hall Art Gallery, Kendal
 * 2012 'Biomorphism as Ethology', Instituto Superior de Psicologia Aplicada, Instituto Universitário, Lisbon
 * 2012 'Lewis Carroll and British Surrealism', Tate Liverpool
 * 2012 'Biomorphism or Skeuomorphism: Surrealist distortion', University of Hull
 * 2011 'Magritte's La Saveur des larmes', Tate Liverpool
 * 2011 'Magritte. Le Refus de l'authentique', Le Centre Interdisciplinaire Récits Cultures Psychanalyse Langues et Sociétés de l'Université de Nice
 * 2010 'Surrealism: the Ultimate Defiance', National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh
 * 2010 'Surrealism', National Association of Decorative and Fine Arts Societies, Harrogate
 * 2009 'Desmond Morris', University of Cambridge
 * 2009 'Surrealism in Britain', University of Cambridge
 * 2009 'Fleeting Phantom: Sheila Legge', Centre for Research in the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities, University of Cambridge
 * 2009 'What is Surrealism?', Leeds Art Gallery
 * 2009 'Paul Nougé Constructing Absence', French Institute, Edinburgh
 * 2008 'Surrealism: Anger and Revolt', University of Durham
 * 2008 'Desmond Morris. Lines of Thought', Williamson Art Gallery and Museum, Birkenhead
 * 2008 'Reading Magritte's La Saveur des larmes', The Barber Institute, University of Birmingham
 * 2006 'Body Language: Communication and Identity', University of the Arts, Bremen
 * 2005 'Magritte at the Edge of Codes', Conception Reception, Annual Conference, The Association of Art Historians, University of Bristol
 * 2003 'Conroy Maddox', Chelsea Arts Club, London
 * 2003 'Chasing Dreams: Freud and the Surrealists', University of Manchester
 * 2002 'La Lumière de l'inconscient', Université catholique de l'Ouest, Angers
 * 2002 'Surrealism', City Art Gallery, Southampton
 * 2001 'The Surrealism of Maddox and Morris', Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery
 * 2001 'Jean-Martin Charcot, a nineteenth-century influence', Le Surréalisme appartient-il au XXe siècle?, St. Hugh's College, Oxford
 * 1998 'Psychoanalysis and the Surrealist Object', Identities, Annual Conference, The Association of Art Historians, University of Exeter
 * 1997 'Surrealism and Desmond Morris', Charleston Literary Festival
 * 1997 'Surrealism: an introduction', Ledbury Poetry Festival
 * 1997 'Desmond Morris and Surrealism', Buxton Museum & Art Gallery
 * 1997 'Edouard Mesens et la persistance du dadaïsme', La Littérature et les arts en Belgique francophone, University of Edinburgh
 * 1997 'Sex and Surrealism', Whitworth Art Gallery, University of Manchester
 * 1996 'René Magritte: The Space in Question', Research Seminar, Keele University
 * 1996 'The Unknown Desmond Morris', City Museum and Art Gallery, Stoke-on-Trent
 * 1996 'André Breton and the Belgian Connection', André Breton: The Power of Language, International Surrealist Colloquium, University of Glasgow
 * 1995 'Conroy Maddox: The Philosophy of a Surrealist', Leeds City Art Gallery
 * 1994 'Belgian Surrealist Theories of music', University of Reading (with Barbara Kelly)
 * 1993 'Paul Nougé and Surrealist Music', Centre for Research in French Studies, University of Keele (with Barbara Kelly)
 * 1993 Interview with Conroy Maddox, Surrealism: The Scene of the Crime, Eugène Vinaver International Colloquium University of Manchester
 * 1993 'Dangerous Music: Belgian Theories of Musical Surrealism', The Scene of the Crime Colloquium, University of Manchester (with Barbara Kelly)
 * 1993 'Belgian Surrealist Theories of Music', University of Liverpool (with Barbara Kelly)
 * 1992 Panellist at Dissecting the exquisite corpse: Surrealism in Words and Images, Symposium, Institute of Romance Studies, University of London
 * 1989 'The Theories of Paul Nougé', North-West, Universities' Seminar in French, University of Liverpool
 * 1988 'Aspects of the Belgian Approach to Surrealism', University of Newcastle upon Tyne
 * 1987 'Art Déco', Newcastle Polytechnic
 * 1987 'Jean Cocteau', Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle upon Tyne
 * 1987 'Surrealism on Film: The Movement and its Philosophy', series of three lectures, Merseyside Film Institute, Liverpool
 * 1985 'The Paris 1920 Style', University of Liverpool
 * 1985 'Jean Cocteau', Merseyside Film Institute, Liverpool
 * 1984 'The Language of Literary Criticism: Structuralism and the Narrative', University College, Dublin
 * 1984 'Dada and Surrealism', Trinity College, Dublin
 * 1984 'Paul Nougé', University of Liverpool
 * 1983 'Belgian Surrealism', National College of Art and Design, Dublin
 * 1983 'Language Loss: A Linguistic Approach', Dublin Dyslexia Association
 * 1983 'The Theory of Abstraction', National Institute for Higher Education, Dublin
 * 1982 'Aphasic Models', University of Kent
 * 1982 'Abstraction, Problems of Interpretation', University of Kent
 * 1982 'René Magritte', Trinity College, Dublin

Media

 * 2022 Contributor Any Answers?, BBC Radio 4, 30 April 2022, 2.00-3.00 pm.
 * 2020 Expert guest The Sadeq Show, Iran International Television, 11 June 2020, 3.00 pm.
 * 2020 Live contributor Alfie and Anna at Breakfast, BBC Radio Newcastle, 20 March 2020, 7.00-10.00 am.
 * 2007 Live contributor Ronnie Barbour, BBC Three Counties Radio, 9 March 2007, 5.00–6.00 pm.
 * 2007 Contributor Brief Lives, BBC Radio 5 Live, 18 February 2007, 6.00–6.30 am.
 * 2006 Live contributor Breakfast, BBC Radio Stoke, 21 September 2006, 7.45–8.00 am.
 * 2005 Contributor Front Row, BBC Radio 4, 14 January 2005, 7.15–7.45 pm.
 * 2002 Live contributor The Late Show, BBC Radio Nottingham, 30 October 2002, 10.30–11.00 pm.
 * 2002 Contributor Brugse Radio VBRO (Belgium) 106 FM, 25 March-3 April 2002
 * 2002 Live contributor Morning Show, Saga Radio, 1 February 2002, 10.30 am.
 * 2000 Live contributor Night Waves, BBC Radio 3, 8 December 2000, 10.00–10.30 pm.
 * 2000 Contributor Front Row, BBC Radio 4, 4 December 2000, 7.15–7.45 pm.
 * 1996 Contributor Answers Back: Desmond Morris, BBC Radio Scotland
 * 1995 Director, author & narrator Conroy Maddox: Surreal Enigmas, 16 minutes
 * 1995 Contributor Performance, BBC Radio Stoke
 * 1991 Contributor Mind Your Own Business, BBC Radio Stoke
 * 1987 Interpreting for live stage performance by Antonio Fava, Commedia dell'arte
 * 1986 Script translator Briefing: The Swiss Connection, Independent Television, 4 December 1986