01.09.18 – 02.01.19
Having emerged in Paris in the 1920s, Surrealism was characterised more by an artistic attitude of mind than a stylistic programme. In a time of political tensions, the Surrealist artists rejected repression and control, and directly expressed their fantasies, visions and fears. When we hear the term ‘Surrealism’ we think of Salvador Dalí’s melting clock-faces, the dream figures of René Magritte, the mysterious landscapes of Max Ernst.
But is there such a thing as Swiss Surrealism?
We are addressing this question for the first time in a comprehensive exhibition: with works by 60 artists, Surrealism Switzerland shows both the pioneering achievements of Swiss artists in Paris (Alberto Giacometti, Meret Oppenheim) as well as the Surrealist trends that further developed in Switzerland between the 1930s and the 1950s. Selected positions of contemporary art confirm the contemporary nature of Surrealist ways of seeing even today.
The exhibition Surrealism Switzerland is conceived by the Aargauer Kunsthaus. After the presentation in Aarau, it will be shown at the <link http: www.masilugano.ch en home _blank external link in new>Museo d'arte della Svizzera italiana (MASI) in Lugano from 10 February to 16 June 2019.
To coincide with the exhibition, a richly illustrated catalogue was published, Ed. Peter Fischer and Julia Schallberger / Aargauer Kunsthaus, Aarau and MASILugano, with essays by Peter Fischer, Stephan Hauser, Julia Schallberger and Hans-Peter Wittwer, Cologne: Snoeck 2018. Order here
