Surrealist Mixed Media
In the wake of World War I’s ravaging of Europe, artists delved into the unconscious mind to confront and grapple with this reality. Poet and critic André Breton, a leader of the Surrealist movement who authored the 1924 Surrealist Manifesto, called this approach “a violent reaction against the impoverishment and sterility of thought processes that resulted from centuries of rationalism.” Surrealist art emerged in the 1920s with dreamlike and uncanny imagery guided by a variety of techniques such as automatic drawing, which can be likened to a stream of consciousness, to channel psychological experiences.
Although Surrealism was a groundbreaking approach for European art, its practitioners were inspired by Indigenous art and ancient mysticism for reenvisioning how sculptures, paintings, prints, performance art and more could respond to the unsettled world around them.
Surrealist artists were also informed by the Dada movement, which originated in 1916 Zurich and embraced absurdity over the logic that had propelled modernity into violence. Some of the Surrealists had witnessed this firsthand, such as Max Ernst, who served in the trenches during World War I, and Salvador Dalí, whose otherworldly paintings and other work responded to the dawning civil war in Spain.
Other key artists associated with the revolutionary art and literary movement included Man Ray, Joan Miró, René Magritte, Yves Tanguy, Frida Kahlo and Meret Oppenheim, all of whom had a distinct perspective on reimagining reality and freeing the unconscious mind from the conventions and restrictions of rational thought. Pablo Picasso showed some of his works in “La Peinture Surréaliste” — the first collective exhibition of Surrealist painting — which opened at Paris’s Galerie Pierre in November of 1925. (Although Magritte is best known as one of the visual Surrealist movement’s most talented practitioners, his famous 1943 painting, The Fifth Season, can be interpreted as a formal break from Surrealism.)
The outbreak of World War II led many in the movement to flee Europe for the Americas, further spreading Surrealism abroad. Generations of modern and contemporary artists were subsequently influenced by the richly symbolic and unearthly imagery of Surrealism, from Joseph Cornell to Arshile Gorky.
Find a collection of original Surrealist paintings, sculptures, prints and multiples and more art on 1stDibs.
Artist Comments
"Sound and Silence" is part of my newest series of mixed media works. I meticulously hand cut from vintage paper. The work is collage and thread on heavyweigh...
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Mixed Media
Mixed Media
2010s Surrealist Mixed Media
Gold Leaf
2010s Surrealist Mixed Media
Gold Leaf
1980s Surrealist Mixed Media
Paper, Mixed Media
1990s Surrealist Mixed Media
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Mixed Media
Paper, Mixed Media
2010s Surrealist Mixed Media
Driftwood, Oil, Laid Paper
2010s Surrealist Mixed Media
Paper, Ink, Watercolor
2010s Surrealist Mixed Media
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Mixed Media
Etching, Monoprint
2010s Surrealist Mixed Media
Canvas, Mixed Media, Acrylic
1990s Surrealist Mixed Media
Mixed Media, Cardboard
1990s Surrealist Mixed Media
Mixed Media
20th Century Surrealist Mixed Media
Handmade Paper, Giclée
2010s Surrealist Mixed Media
Canvas, Mixed Media, Oil
1970s Surrealist Mixed Media
Mixed Media
2010s Surrealist Mixed Media
Acrylic, Graphite
2010s Surrealist Mixed Media
Driftwood, Oil, Laid Paper
2010s Surrealist Mixed Media
Acrylic, Wood Panel, Color Pencil
2010s Surrealist Mixed Media
Mixed Media, Magazine Paper
2010s Surrealist Mixed Media
Found Objects, Paper, Mixed Media
1990s Surrealist Mixed Media
Mixed Media, Cardboard
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Mixed Media
Canvas, Mixed Media
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Mixed Media
Etching, Monoprint
2010s Surrealist Mixed Media
Ceramic, Underglaze, Pigment
1970s Surrealist Mixed Media
Ink, Watercolor
1990s Surrealist Mixed Media
Mixed Media
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Mixed Media
Canvas, Mixed Media
2010s Surrealist Mixed Media
Gold Leaf
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Mixed Media
Archival Paper
2010s Surrealist Mixed Media
Mixed Media
20th Century Surrealist Mixed Media
Mixed Media
Artist Comments
Figures walk along a shadowy path, blending into the dark background. Above, a supermoon watches over the scene. A worn ticket strip runs horizontally across ...
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Mixed Media
Mixed Media
2010s Surrealist Mixed Media
Archival Paper, Other Medium, Graphite, Color Pencil
2010s Surrealist Mixed Media
Gold Leaf
2010s Surrealist Mixed Media
Mixed Media
Late 20th Century Surrealist Mixed Media
Mixed Media
Artist Comments
Three people work together to install fence posts on the roof of a city building. The background features a city skyline fading into the night. The surreal sc...
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Mixed Media
Mixed Media
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Mixed Media
Canvas, Oil, Acrylic, Charcoal
2010s Surrealist Mixed Media
Acrylic, Gel Pen, Color Pencil
2010s Surrealist Mixed Media
Gold Leaf
2010s Surrealist Mixed Media
Gold Leaf
2010s Surrealist Mixed Media
Mixed Media
2010s Surrealist Mixed Media
Ceramic, Oil Pastel, Acrylic
2010s Surrealist Mixed Media
Ceramic, Acrylic, Oil Pastel
20th Century Surrealist Mixed Media
Glass, Paper
2010s Surrealist Mixed Media
Mixed Media
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Mixed Media
Mixed Media
2010s Surrealist Mixed Media
Mixed Media
2010s Surrealist Mixed Media
Pastel, Found Objects, Watercolor
2010s Surrealist Mixed Media
Mixed Media
2010s Surrealist Mixed Media
Paper, Ink, Watercolor
2010s Surrealist Mixed Media
Mixed Media
2010s Surrealist Mixed Media
Mixed Media
2010s Surrealist Mixed Media
Mixed Media
2010s Surrealist Mixed Media
Mixed Media
1990s Surrealist Mixed Media
Paint, Paper, Mixed Media
2010s Surrealist Mixed Media
Mixed Media
20th Century Surrealist Mixed Media
Mixed Media
1990s Surrealist Mixed Media
Paint, Paper, Mixed Media