In our gallery we seem to carry several works of surrealist art, most noteworthy is the work of Joan Miro, whom we’ve collected several lithograph works. Surrealism still has a heavy hold on design, architecture, and influence of modern trends. But, without knowing the history, it may be difficult to track down exactly where this art movement came from.
Surrealism is one of the few artistic movements known to have a singular origin- which is the work of Andre Breton. Breton utilized Sigmund Freud’s “The Interpretation of Dreams” published in 1899 to cope with a world reeling from trauma in the aftermath of World War I. Influenced by this psychoanalysis, Breton and other Surrealist artists believed that the unconscious was the key to discovering deeper truths about the human condition.
Out of the desire to tune into one’s unconscious, the practice of automatism was born. Automatism was utilized to allow the subconscious to direct movement or writing. Joan Miro was one avid proponent of Automatism, utilizing it to create his vivid Biomorphic organic forms for which he is known.
The other side of this unconscious was accessing the ‘dream-state’ which artists like Salvador Dali utilized to create imagery beyond the rational and to propose deeper concepts about the perception of the reality we interact with. New Yorker Contributor, Ellen Lanyon, uses this form of surrealism in her work, creating vivid images subverting the expectations of the conscious mind. In her piece Lilies, Lanyon applies subtle surrealism to create a sense of comfort and one-ness with hands reaching together from a planter.
Although not technically a surrealist, Marc Chagall worked in radical points throughout his career exploring surrealism in his work. The influence of surrealism in Paris would have been difficult for the artist to avoid. By the end of his life, Chagall had carved out his own abstract of making art, taking pieces of the artistic periods to create his own genre-defying work. His use of dream-like figures and dual imagery such as in David and Bathsheba or L'Accordeoniste, Paris, exemplify a pseudo-surrealism that Chagall utilized throughout his work.
Surrealism continues to be a focal point in art as humans strive to access emotional and spiritual truths previously subdued by society. As mental health moves to the forefront of conversations about the human condition, surrealist work continues to be a touchstone to humankind’s quest to unravel ourselves.