Major international survey from France’s National Museum of Modern Art traces the crisis of Surrealism and Dalí’s emergence in 1929
Midnight in Paris: Surrealism at the Crossroads, 1929 explores the personalities and critical creative relationships that influenced the arts for generations
The exhibition opens in St. Petersburg, the exclusive U.S. venue, Nov. 23, 2019
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Paris, 1929: An avant-garde hothouse rife with artistic conflict and friendly rivalry, fueled in the wake of a tragic world war. Would painting survive the new experiments with photography, film and collage? Would politics replace art? Midnight in Paris: Surrealism at the Crossroads, 1929 will immerse audiences in this particularly rich and vital creative awakening by examining the work, friendships and clashes of over 20 artists of the era. That tumultuous year also marked a crucial watershed in particular for Salvador Dalí, who first appeared on the scene with the film Un Chien Andalou. The Dalí Museum’s special exhibition will feature works by artists who have defined the course of art for nearly a century, including Jean Arp, André Breton, Luis Buñuel, Alexander Calder, Giorgio de Chirico, Salvador Dalí, Max Ernst, Alberto Giacometti, René Magritte, Joan Miró, Francis Picabia, Man Ray, Yves Tanguy and others.
Through a host of 20th-century works from the renowned Centre Pompidou in Paris, Midnight in Paris brings to life the personal relationships and the intellectual passions that threatened to tear apart the newly formed artistic movement called Surrealism. Just as this art form began to penetrate Western culture, from literature to fashion to advertising, disagreements erupted among its famous practitioners. Are dreams or spontaneous emotions more central to image-making? Should painting take precedence, or are more technical approaches and media more effective tools? Perhaps most importantly, how can Surrealism embody the concerns and values of a new class of activist artists shaped by the profound destruction of the first World War?
“As the preeminent movement of its era, Surrealism reached an innovative turning point in 1929, a crisis of consciousness that has had a sweeping impact on visual art ever since,” said Dr. Hank Hine, executive director of The Dalí Museum. “The Dalí Museum, with its outstanding legacy, collection and international partnerships, looks forward to affording our visitors this rare window into one of the most critical epochs in cultural history.”
Organized by the Centre Pompidou, Paris, and The Dalí Museum, Midnight in Paris will be on view at The Dalí Museum Nov. 23, 2019, through April 9, 2020, its first and only appearance in North America. It is curated by Dr. William Jeffett, chief curator of special exhibitions at The Dalí Museum, and Didier Ottinger, deputy director of the Musée national d’art moderne at the Centre Pompidou.
The Dalí Museum’s unique installation was adapted from a selection of works organized by Dr. Ottinger and previously exhibited at the Palazzo Blu in Pisa and the Hungarian National Gallery in Budapest.
The exhibition is designed for visitors to stroll through the streets of Paris, with a focus on the paintings, photographs, sculptures and personalities of iconic Surrealist artists. The exhibition will also feature archival film and documents from the movement, as well as several rarely loaned Salvador Dalí works, including one of his earliest double-image paintings.
Midnight in Paris is sponsored by St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport (PIE).
Currently at The Dalí
Visual Magic: Dalí’s Masterworks in Augmented Reality utilizes burgeoning augmented reality (AR) technology to engage visitors while highlighting the Museum’s collection of Dalí’s popular Masterworks – paintings exceeding five feet in height or width that occupied Dalí a year or more. Through spectacular digital effects, these monumental – and monumentally important – works come to life, allowing visitors to gain a deeper understanding of the meaning behind these eight significant Dalí works.
Before Dalí: Goya — Visions & Inventions showcases the work of Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (1746-1828), one of Spain’s greatest artists and an integral influence on Salvador Dalí. His paintings and etchings from the late-18th and early-19th centuries are celebrated for their revolutionary qualities. Many scholars regard Goya’s life and works as the basis for modern art, bridging Classicism and Romanticism and introducing democratic themes into a previously elite art form. The exhibit’s works are on loan from the Meadows Museum in Dallas, which houses one of the most substantial collections of Goya.
Bronzes from the Vault features Dalí sculptures from a series originally commissioned by gallery owner Isidro Clot and created 1969-79, the only sculptures Dalí ever worked on by hand. Twenty of the small-scale pieces have been released from the Museum’s vault and are showcased in salons throughout The James Family Wing. In addition to the sculptures displayed in the galleries, four large-scale bronzes ranging from 6.5 to 10 feet high will be on view in the Museum’s Avant-garden.
About The Dalí Museum
The Dalí Museum, located in the heart of picturesque downtown St. Petersburg, Florida, is home to an unparalleled collection of over 2,400 Salvador Dalí works, including nearly 300 oil paintings, watercolors and drawings, as well as more than 2,100 prints, photographs, posters, textiles, sculptures and objets d’art. The Museum’s nonprofit mission, to care for and share its collection locally and internationally, is grounded by a commitment to education and sustained by a culture of philanthropy.
The Dalí is recognized internationally by the Michelin Guide with a three-star rating; has been deemed “one of the top buildings to see in your lifetime” by AOL Travel News; and named one of the ten most interesting museums in the world by Architectural Digest. The building itself is a work of art, including a geodesic glass bubble, nicknamed The Enigma, featuring 1,062 triangular glass panels, a fitting tribute to Salvador Dalí’s legacy of innovation and transformation. Explore The Dalí anytime with the free Dalí Museum App, available on Google Play and in the App Store. The Dalí Museum is located at One Dalí Boulevard, St. Petersburg, Florida 33701.
For more information visit TheDali.org.
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Media Contact: Amber Hendrickson | Blue Water Communications | amber@bluewatercommunications.biz | 800.975.3212