‘We inhabit the corrosive littoral of habit’ (1940) by James Gleeson, courtesy of the artist’s estate
Most of us are pretty familiar with iconic Surrealist artworks like Salvador Dali’s melting clocks and Rene Magrritte’s veiled lovers, as these are referenced time and time again in pop culture (see: The Simpsons and Opening Ceremony, respectively). Most of us also know at least the basic buzzwords behind Surrealism’s backstory: 1920’s, Paris, Breton. But what’s often overlooked in one of history’s most important cultural movements is the role of Australian artists and how they engaged with Surrealism. Lurid Beauty: Australian Surrealism and its Echoes is an extensive exhibition opening next week at the National Gallery of Victoria that, for the first time, traces the history of Surrealism in Australian art, from when it arrived in the 1930’s to today.
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Over 230 artworks spanning painting, drawing, collage, sculpture, fashion, film and photography will be on display. The curation is interesting—past and present pieces will be displayed together to show how Surrealism has been interpreted throughout the decades, and highlight the pull that it still holds. A dialogue is opened up; in one instance works by contemporary female artists including Pat Brassington and Anne Wallace are displayed next to historical Surrealist works containing misogynistic imagery, hence challenging the gender roles outlined in the Freudian theories which underpinned the movement.
’Talking Cure’ (2010) by Anne Wallace, courtesy of the artist and Darren Knight Gallery, Sydney
Other highlights include tripped-out dreamscapes by James Gleeson, flamboyant films by Leigh Bowery, a four metre-tall bed by Rosslynd Piggott, and installation by Melbourne cool kids Centre for Style set to test the limits of wearable fashion. Word on the street is that a taxidermic mechanical cat care of Greatest Hits will even make an appearance.Check out some of the works that will be featured below:
'Untitled (Woman with flowing hair beside stairs with molten form)' (mid 1940's) by Clifford Bayliss
'Siamese shoes I' (1958, remade 1968) by Barry Humphries
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