REVEALING 85 PRINTS FROM THE WORLD-RENOWNED DALÍ COLLECTION
Friday, September 20, 2013-January, 2014
St. Petersburg, FL (September 20, 2013) – The Dalí Museum in St. Petersburg, FL announces the debut of “Print is the New Black: Dali, Printmaker” opening Friday, September 20th featuring 85 diverse prints from The Dalí Museum collection. The new Fall exhibit represents multiple print suites and single prints created by Dali, and commissioned by various publishers from 1930 to 1976. The variety of themes showcased demonstrate Dali’s imagination and versatility in whatever medium he chose. The exhibit will be on view in The Dalí’s Hough Gallery.
“New techniques or materials he could apply to his artwork always fascinated Dali. Thousands of images from the humorous to the sublime have been produced through Dali’s prolific vision,” commented Dalí Museum curator, Joan Kropf. “As with most of his work, Dalí broke norms in the print medium – allowing us to realize that everything can be reimagined.”
Fall, 2013 Exhibit: “Print is the New Black: Dali, Printmaker”
This exhibit explores the narratives that print conveys – in a way no other medium can – and showcases Dali’s expertise and inventiveness as an image-maker.
On display are 85 prints from The Dalí Museum collection which are representative of multiple print suites and single prints commissioned by various publishers from 1930 to 1976. Often overlooked, prints are a major part of Salvador Dalí’s work. This exhibit celebrates his fine and varied technique in illustrations for subjects including Alice in Wonderland, Les Chants de Maldoror and Don Quixote, illustrating Dali’s creativity along with his fine draftsmanship.
Dali’s Career as a Printmaker
Dalí first prints date back to the 1930s when he collaborated with Éditions Surréalistes on an illustrated L’Immaculée Conception (the Immaculate Conception) with text by André Breton and Paul Éluard. This was Dali’s first Surrealist illustration. Subsequently, he illustrated a limited number of publications for other fellow Surrealists during this period.
Dalí had a particular disdain for lithography. He broke through the boundaries of conventional lithography and experimented with a variety of dramatic processes to apply ink to stone, one of which was coined “bulletism.” In the mid-1960s Dalí began to work closely with the American publisher Sidney Z. Lucas, proprietor of the Phyllis Lucas Gallery in New York. From 1966 onwards many publishers repeatedly urged Dalí to produce watercolors or gouaches on literary, botanical or musical subjects. The designs were then transferred to plates by lithographers or engravers or reproduced by a photomechanical process. Dalí possessed a keen interest in both the Renaissance and current scientific events.
The Memories of Surrealism suite represents Dali’s meditation on Surrealism. Although Surrealism was a historically bound movement, it is a timeless source of inspiration to art, literature, film, advertising, and fashion. Here, we find Dalí intrigued by the theme of memory, which held such a powerful grip on his own career. The suite consists of twelve original etchings and lithographs produced in 1971. The suite contains the print the Eye of Surrealistic Time with a clock-eye peering over an elongated horizon.
The Dalí Museum, showcasing 85 prints in “Print is the New Black: Dali, Printmaker,” will allow the public to relish this private collection of Dali’s expansive print works on display until early January.
About The Dalí
The Dalí Museum, located in the heart of beautiful downtown St. Petersburg, FL, is home to the most significant collection of Salvador Dalí art in the world – featuring more than 2,000 works comprised of nearly 100 oil paintings, over 100 watercolors and drawings, 1,300 graphics, photographs, sculptures and objet d’art.
The building is itself a work of art, featuring 1,062 triangular-shaped glass panels – the only structure of its kind in North America – nicknamed the “Enigma,” it provides an unprecedented view of St. Petersburg’s picturesque waterfront. The museum has attracted the world’s attention and is listed as one of the top buildings to see in your lifetime in AOL Travel News, amongst other distinguished awards.
The Dalí Museum is located at One Dalí Boulevard, St. Petersburg, Florida 33701.For additional information contact 727-823-3767, or TheDali.org.
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