‘Clyde Butcher: Visions of Dalí’s Spain’ Debuts This Summer
Famed Photographer Captures the Landscapes of Salvador Dalí’s Life in a Collaboration Across Time
St. Petersburg, Fla (March 12, 2018)– Beginning this summer, visitors to The Dalí Museum will be able to immerse themselves in stunning images of Dalí’s homeland on a grand scale. Clyde Butcher: Visions of Dalí’s Spain will open to the public on June 16 and provide a view of Dalí’s surroundings as seen by Florida’s greatest nature photographer, Clyde Butcher. Known as the “Ansel Adams of the Florida landscape,” Butcher’s photographs are technically brilliant, their large format creating a euphoric experience of immersion. His works have become an influential part of Florida’s cultural landscape, showcasing the true beauty of Floridian swamp and marsh environments.
For Salvador Dalí, the landscape of his homeland was always an essential feature of his work and outlook on life. He would often proclaim that the Catalonian coastline was the most sublime in the world, and the perfect place for someone “to become Dalí.” Nearly one year ago, The Dalí sought out Butcher to use his talents to capture a body of images of Dalí’s Mediterranean home, featuring some of the world’s most dramatic landscapes. Museum visitors are invited not only to appreciate the splendor Dalí saw in this part of Spain, but also to contemplate his homeland from a new perspective. Butcher traveled to the village of Cadaqués, where Dalí spent summers while growing up, Dalí’s villa in Port Lligat and the rugged region of Cap de Creus – all areas that are prominently featured in Dalí’s works. The thoughtfully curated collection will feature 41 photos that take viewers on a journey through the Catalonian region, with images ranging from an intimate 2 feet to a panoramic 8 feet.
The exhibit will be Butcher’s first photographic exhibition of Spain, as well as the first time he has been commissioned to photograph an area that influenced another artist. Dalí captured “geological delirium” of his environs in works throughout his life, from the hallucinatory rocks of Cap de Creus to the area’s Greek and Roman settlement ruins. Dalí’s love and homesickness for Spain provides an invisible thread that stitches together his eclectic body of work. Butcher’s photographs capture the subtleties of Dalí’s beloved homeland, breathing new life into the vistas and inlets that comprised the famed surrealist’s dreamland.
“We’re dedicated to sharing the art, life and world of Dalí with our community,“ said Peter Tush, Dalí Museum Curator of Education. “This show allows us to do just that in an immersive, yet intimate way. Butcher captured the sublime beauty of Dalí’s Mediterranean world in exquisite detail, providing a portal between their two worlds for our guests to explore.”
“Clyde Butcher: Visions of Dalí’s Spain” is co-organized by The Dalí Museum, Clyde Butcher and his family. The exhibition is curated for The Dalí by Dalí Museum Curator of Education, Peter Tush.
Exhibition information: thedali.org/butcher
MORE FROM THE DALÍ
Currently at the Museum, the highly acclaimed Dali/Duchamp exhibition continues now through May 27. This singular exhibition is the first of its kind dedicated to the friendship and mutual influence of two of the twentieth century’s greatest artists – the father of conceptual art, Marcel Duchamp, and Salvador Dalí, the champion of traditional painting and the imagination. As an entirely new discovery on a theoretical level, Dalí and Duchamp – while generally thought to represent completely different approaches to art – were by contrast more related than often assumed. The unique exhibition showcases their world of shared ideas, from the provocative to the playful.
Dali/Duchamp is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to view significant works of both iconic artists in one room, with over 50 works including some of Dalí’s most technically acclaimed paintings never before seen at The Dalí – Christ of Saint John of the Cross (c. 1951), Apparition of Face and Fruit Dish on a Beach (1938) and Two pieces of bread expressing the sentiment of love (1940) – as well as Duchamp’s groundbreaking assemblages and ready-mades.
Dali/Duchamp is organized by The Dalí Museum, St Petersburg, FL and the Royal Academy of Arts, London, in collaboration with the Gala-Salvador Dalí Foundation and the Association Marcel Duchamp. Exhibition curated by Dawn Ades and William Jeffett, with Sarah Lea and Desiree de Chair. The exhibition contains challenging images, including adult content.
ABOUT THE DALÍ
The Dalí Museum, located in the heart of beautiful downtown St. Petersburg, Florida, is home to an unparalleled collection of Salvador Dalí art, featuring more than 2,000 works comprising nearly 100 oil paintings; over 100 watercolors and drawings; and 1,300 prints, photographs, sculptures and objets 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 among the other distinguished awards it has received, it is the first and only museum in the Southeastern United States to be recognized internationally by the Michelin Guide with a three-star rating.
The Dalí Museum is located at One Dalí Boulevard, St. Petersburg, Florida 33701. For additional information contact 727.823.3767 or visit TheDali.org.
Media Contact: Lorin Augeri | LAugeri@paradiseadv.com | 727.821.5155 x120