The Malmundarium Presents "From Salvador Dalí to René Magritte, ... a surrealist exhibition"

Exhibit Opens March 10 through October 28, 2012

The Malmundarium in Malmedy organizes an exhibition on surrealism from March 10 to October 28, 2012. On display will be major works by all the leading artists of this movement.  Together, they provide an important overview of some of the most famous artists of the twentieth century: Salvador Dalí, Max Ernst, René Magritte, André Masson, Joan Miró and Paul Delvaux.

The core of the exhibition consists of paintings, sculptures and works on paper but, because the Surrealists challenged the traditional classification of artistic disciplines, composite objects, photographs and assemblages will also be shown.

Surrealism is one of the best-known art movements of the 20^th century and its influence is felt to this day. It is also the only avant-garde art movement of the first half of the 20^thcentury in which Belgian artists, the most prominent of whom was René Magritte, exerted a decisive influence. Surrealism originated in Paris in the early twenties out of discontent with the gratuitous criticism of traditional art by Dadaism. The surrealists were ambitious. They wanted nothing less than to liberate the mind through art and literature and rebuild society from the very foundations upwards. André Breton formulated this ambition into several powerful texts and was the uncontested leader of the group. The experience of the First World War had clearly shown that man’s uncontrolled delusions had ended in a spiral of self-destruction. The Surrealists had the idea that they could counter this derailment. In art, it was possible to vigorously question the prevailing worldview and liberate new, hopeful and constructive energy from the shackles of conventions and clichés. Art, of course, first had to free itself from the yoke of the unconscious habits and authoritarian principles. In their search for innovative creativity, free from common artistic principles, the Surrealists did not develop a uniform style, but demonstrated a multitude of diverse artistic achievements. To feed the poetic power of their imagination, they turned to psychology. The dream and the unconscious were explored because it was believed that the true meaning and motives of human behaviour could be found there. The Surrealists were not only radical in terms of their art. Even in the presentations of their work they radically deviated from all typical exhibition forms.

The works of these artists are frequently exhibited in the world’s most famous museums. The artists are already known worldwide and their works are on display for the next 8 months at the Malmundarium, formerly a prestigious monastery that today stands as a space dedicated to celebrating art and culture.

For more information, please visit http://www.malmundarium.be/ 

Press Contact:

Katie Papadopoulos

212.758.8130 x11

katie@visitbelgium.com