Surrealism

Stephanie D’Alessandro and Matthew Gale

This groundbreaking book challenges conventional narratives of Surrealism, tracing its impact and legacy from the 1920s to the late 1970s in places as diverse as Colombia, Czechoslovakia, Egypt, Japan, Mexico, the Philippines, Romania, Syria, Thailand, and Turkey. In doing so, it presents a more inclusive and accurate understanding of the fundamentally international character and lasting significance of the revolutionary artistic, literary, and philosophical movement.

Jennifer Mundy

The surrealist leader André Breton described desire as the “only master that man must recognize.” One of surrealism’s defining themes, desire was expressed variously in Dali’s charged landscapes, Miró’s lyric abstractions, and Bellmer’s unsettling nudes. Influenced by Freud, the surrealists saw sexual desire as a path to self-knowledge–“a theatre of provocations and prohibitions in which life’s most profound urges confront one another.”

Luis-Martin Lozano

Among the few women artists who have transcended art history, none had a meteoric rise quite like Mexican painter Frida Kahlo (1907–1954). Her unmistakable face, depicted in over fifty extraordinary self-portraits, has been admired by generations; along with hundreds of photographs taken by notable artists such as Manuel and Lola Álvarez Bravo, Nickolas Muray, and Martin Munkácsi, they made Frida Kahlo an iconic image of 20th century art.After an accident in her early youth, Frida became a painter of her own free will.

Robert Descharnes and Gilles Néret

This publication presents the entire painted oeuvre of Salvador Dalí (1904-1989). After many years of research, Robert Descharnes and Gilles Néret finally located all the paintings of this highly prolific artist. Many of the works had been inaccessible for years – in fact so many that almost half the illustrations in this book have rarely been seen.

Sarane Alexandrian

A study of the surrealist movement which traces its development and examines the work and thoughts of its major artists.

Andre Breton

In his book Manifestoes of Surrealism, André Breton outlines the goals, significance, and political stance of the Surrealist movement.

Robert Zeller

The Uncanny in Contemporary Painting by Robert Zeller offers a sweeping exposition of both historical Surrealism and its legacy in the world of contemporary art. It demonstrates the many ways in which the most significant art movement of the last century continues to be relevant today, featuring an international selection of contemporary artists whose compositions and studio practice reveal its influence.

Andreas J. Hirsch

Swiss artist HR Giger (1940–2014) is most famous for his creation of the space monster in Ridley Scott’s 1979 horror sci-fi film Alien, which earned him an Oscar. Yet this was just one of the most popular expressions of Giger’s biomechanical arsenal of creatures, which consistently merged hybrids of human and machine into images of haunting power and dark psychedelia. The visions drew on demons of the past, as well as evoking mythologies for the future.

Stefan Fischer

Only 20 paintings and eight drawings are confidently assigned to Netherlandish painter Hieronymus Bosch (c. 1450–1516) but in their fantastical visions they have secured his place as one of the most cult artists in history. 500 years on from his death, his works continue to inspire scholars, artists, designers, and musicians, death metal band names and designer dresses.

Julie Waseige

Réné Magritte is one of the most popular artists of the 20th century. His work continues to be the object of many international exhibitions.

Many books have been published on the artist, but this book presents an accessible and complete introduction to his oeuvre and his life. Includes a surprising mix of his emblematic paintings and lesser-known works.