Drawn from the world-renowned collection of Tate, UK, The Surrealist International: Fifty Years of Dreams examines the long trajectory and broad reach of Surrealism. Rethinking how and why this artistic movement was taken up by individuals and groups around the world, the exhibition addresses Surrealism as a state of mind, through a rich collection of paintings, sculptures, photographs, and archival material. With works spanning the globe, The Surrealist International showcases the impact of Surrealism across both space and time, highlighting the long-lasting influence of the movement with works from the 1920s to the 1970s.
The Surrealist International honors the centenary of the first exhibition of Surrealism in Paris in November 1925, which followed the publication in 1924 of André Breton’s Le Manifeste du Surréalisme (Manifesto of Surrealism) and Louis Aragon’s prose-poem-essay Une vague de rêves (A wave of dreams). Featuring familiar artists such as Louise Bourgeois, Leonora Carrington, Salvador Dalí, René Magritte, Joan Miró, and Dorothea Tanning, alongside lesser-known artists such as Ithell Colquhoun, Kati Horna, Malangatana Ngwenya, Osamu Shiihara, and Lionel Wendt, the exhibition expands the understanding of Surrealism through transnational and transhistorical perspectives. Because Surrealism has permeated many areas of culture and society and has found innovators and fellow travellers in various places, The Surrealist International takes up some of the challenges posed by the movement and continues the rethinking of the apparently familiar that Surrealism has always encouraged.