The Fondation Beyeler is devoting the first-ever comprehensive exhibition in Switzerland to Surrealism in Paris.
On view will be major works by artists such as Salvador Dalí, René Magritte, Joan Miró, and many more who either belonged to the movement or were associated with it. Surrealism was one of the most crucial artistic and literary movements of the twentieth century and had a lasting influence on it. After emerging in Paris in 1924, the movement unfolded a worldwide impact. Influenced by the writings of Sigmund Freud and under the leadership of its chief theoretician, André Breton, the Surrealists set out to change life and society by means of a new brand of art and poetry. Tapping the unconscious mind and world of dreams was to trigger an entirely unprecedented kind of creativity. "Dalí, Magritte, Miró – Surrealism in Paris" comprises about 290 masterworks and manuscripts by about 40 artists and authors.
The highlights will include a presentation of the legendary Surrealist private collections amassed by Peggy Guggenheim and by Breton’s first wife Simone Collinet. In addition to famous paintings and sculptures, objects, photographs, drawings, manuscripts, jewelry and films await discovery.
The loans to the exhibition stem from renowned private collections and public museums, in Europe and the United States.