Salvador Dalí Exhibition
Martin Lawrence Galleries, New York
[Image: Dalí, Spectacles with Holograms & Computers (Imaginations and Objects of the Future), hand-signed lithograph and etching]
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The exhibition features his artwork for unforgettable editions of “The Devine Comedy”, “The Grail Quest”, “Tristan and Isolde”, Twelve Tribes of Israel”, “Les Amours Jaounes” and “The Imaginations and Objects of the Future series”. A surrealistic journey through Salvador Dalí’s works on watercolors, wood engravings, lithographs, and oil on paper.
Salvador Dali Spectacles with Holograms and Computers for Seeing Imagined Objects is a lithograph with engraving. This work is one of 11 works from the “Imagination and Objects of the Future” suite. The suite was printed in 1975.
Spectacles with Holograms and Computers shows the viewer how Dalí imagined a device that could ‘give visual form to thought. With astounding color, a segment of incredible geometric form in the upper right-hand corner and his signature Ants integrated into the image; this work is perhaps the most complex of this group in terms of its execution and form.
The Imaginations and Objects of the Future series consists of ten lithographs, five of which have collage elements. Cyclopean Make-up is one of the works featuring collage. Arguably the most surrealist work in this series, the Dallas Museum of Art quoted Dalí when describing it: The concept founded on the eye of a Cyclops. Cybernetic models obtained on computers will replace the traditional structure. People will wear anaglyphic glasses. When they wear these orange and green glasses and look at others, strange metamorphoses will occur. For example, a particular part of the body might become completely invisible. Or else, by looking through these glasses, one will see women wearing doves or fishes instead of heads. This surrealist cybernetic makeup will open up the kingdom of the headless women. In my museum, I paint cyclopean images on the walls. If one looks at them with orange and green glasses, everything then takes on another dimension.
Salvador Dalí, Fleurs, Pastèque et Poire Dans un Paysage Ampurdanais, 1966, work echoes a famous painting of Dali’s from 1936 – The Pharmacist of Ampurdan Seeking Absolutely Nothing. Catalonia’s Plain of Ampurdan, a favorite compositional element of Dali’s, serves as a playground, almost like a chessboard, where iconic images from Dali’s œuvre frolic about – Don Quixote, the Knight on horseback, the castle tower in the distance like a chess rook, the marching bishop with his mitre and staff as well another running figure wielding a staff-like object. All of the characters, in fact, have a staff-like object and seem to represent male energy while the foreground dominates the composition with feminine floral and fruit symbols. Dali has added his famous ‘milk crown’ signature to this piece, an image that was inspired by the engineer Harold Edgerton’s stroboscopic photo of a drop of milk.
About Salvador Dalí: Spanish Artist Salvador Dalí was a Surrealist icon best known for his articulate skill and exquisite works of art. Dalí is among the most versatile and prolific artists of the 20th century, partially due to his explorations of subconscious imagery. He practiced sculpting, printmaking, fashion, advertising, filmmaking, and more. His flamboyant personality and mischievousness contributed to his rise to becoming an international celebrity; however, his mastery of the art is arguably his most distinct attribute.
Salvador Felipe Jacinto Dalí Domenech was born on May 11, 1904, in Figueras, Spain. At an early age, Dalí went to a private school where all his classes were taught in French. French was to become the language he used as an artist. While on vacation during his youth, he would frequently draw and paint images of his family and the Cadaqués coastline. This is where Dalí would study painting before he entered art school. Soon after that, he studied drawing at the Colegio de Hermanos Maristas and the Instituto in Figueres, Spain. Dalí was not a serious student, yet he had his first public exhibition at the Municipal Theatre of Figueres in 1919.
In 1920, Dalí was set on becoming a painter, so he went to Madrid to study at the Fine Arts School. Here he was exposed to many different artistic styles, including Cubism, Futurism, and Purism. Dalí was expelled multiple times from this institution, and his work began displaying disturbing imagery of mutilation and decay. In the late 1920’s he traveled to Paris, where he met Pablo Picasso, Joan Miró and René Magritte, who introduced him to the realm of Surrealism. Dalí began experimenting with more styles, influenced partially by Picasso and his new friends, which led to his first Surrealistic period in 1929. Dalí also collaborated with Luis Bunuel on two films and met his soon-to-be wife Elena Dmitrievna Diakonova (also known as “Gala”). Gala took care of the business side of Dalí’s art, such as the legal and financial aspects.
In 1934, Dalí was introduced to America in a New York exhibition, and he was expulsed from the Surrealists. Despite this, he continued to participate in many Surrealist exhibitions. Dalí and Gala moved to New York during World War II, where he was given his retrospective exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art in 1941. Here he collaborated with Alfred Hitchcock and Walt Disney on film and animation projects. During this time, Dalí began the journey into his classical period and strayed away from Surrealism. He then moved back to Catalonia in 1948.
Post-World War II brought Dalí’s classicism and new scientific interests as well as a growing spirituality and dedication to the Catholic Church. Dalí defined this as “Nuclear Mysticism,” a combination of mystical and experimental aspects. Works include his Divine Comedy and Twelve Tribes of Israel suites, among many other of his famous works.
Dalí eventually passed of heart failure on January 23, 1989, at the age of 84. His life and his art are still revered by many, and he is yet exhibited internationally to this day. Dalí created new artistic languages and became one of the first painters to truly achieve international celebrity status. Martin Lawrence Galleries carries select Salvador Dalí artworks, which will be on view at their Soho Gallery location.
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Schedule
from October 24, 2019 to November 16, 2019