SURREAL OBJECTS. THREE-DIMENSIONAL WORKS FROM DALÍ TO MAN RAY

 "Beautiful as the chance encounter of a sewing machine and an umbrella on an operating table" – this is how the poet comte de Lautréamont describes a key aspect of surrealist art theory. The Surrealists' strange objects and sculptures manifest the interplay of bizarre contrasts, of a shaken reality that forges unconscious and dreamlike associations.

This is the first, wide-ranging exhibition to focus exclusively on the Surrealists’ three-dimensional works – about 150 of them in all. From today’s perspective, many of them seem surprisingly fresh and contemporary, not historical artefacts at all. The selection presents artists of the surrealist period from 1925–1945, including familiar names such as Duchamp, Magritte, Dalí, Picasso and Miró, but also many other artists whose striking works are still to be discovered by the general public. At the invitation of the Schirn, the artist group et al.* has developed a special project for the exhibition: “EN PASSANT” is an installation visitors pass through before they enter the exhibition.

Curator: Dr. Ingrid Pfeiffer (SCHIRN)