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Surrealist Figurative Paintings

SURREALIST STYLE

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.

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Style: Surrealist
"SILLY TOPIC OF TWO LOVERS"
Located in Los Angeles, CA
YURI MARTINEZ RAMOS "SILLY TOPIC OF TWO LOVERS" OIL ON CANVAS, SIGNED, TITLED CUBAN-AMERICAN, DATED 2000 31.5 X 39.5 INCHES Silly Topic for Two Lovers is exactly what you can appreciate in the painting, by the time every young couple was using the bicycle as a way of transportation in Havana, I saw that silly imagery as an excuse to talk about love. Yuri Martinez Ramos was born in Havana, Cuba on November 24, 1964. He studied at the Elemental School of Plastic Arts from 1975 – 1979 and the National School of the Arts from 1979 – 1983. Martinez’ figurative paintings have been compared to Botero because of his satirical social commentary. His style, however, is uniquely his own with typically vibrant Latin colors and use of expressive magical realism. His paintings tell his story and the story of the Cuban dilemma. Martinez was granted permission by the US Justice Department after much effort with Cuban authorities to come to the US with his family and pursue his career outside Cuba. He now lives and works in Texas. Papillon Gallery...
Category

Early 2000s Surrealist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

On Road (surreal dark mauve oil painting man butterflies magic Realism)
Located in Quebec, Quebec
Rudolf Kosow’s On Road is a hauntingly poetic exploration of light, transition, and the unknown. A solitary figure stands at the edge of a glowing precipice, his gaze lowered towards...
Category

2010s Surrealist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Surrealist Large Painting Royal College of Art LGBTQ+ Female Blue Green Bust Cat
Located in Norfolk, GB
Isabel Rock is a creator of contemporary fairy tales. A graduate of the Royal College of Art in London, her work is an explosion of strange occurrences while a surreal narrative takes the audience on a journey into the imagination. In October 2023 Isabel won the Evelyn Williams Drawing Award at the Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize. Known as the UK’s most prestigious annual open exhibition for drawing; part of the prize is a solo show at Hastings Contemporary, scheduled for 2024. Whilst Isabel always has a tale to tell for each of her images, you may or may not choose to go on the journey with her or you may indeed have a different story, one of your own that jumps off the page at you, that that you decide to follow. Artwork Details: Best Day Ever, 152x122cm, Collaged woodblock print, acrylic ink on Somerset satin paper, 2023 Artwork Provenance: from the Artist Studio photo credits, Isabel working, black and white shots, James Brown In Isabel's own words: Best Day Ever; It was the best day ever. Just one of those days when everything goes right and the world is an exciting place. The very pavements seemed to be alive with magical stories to tell of the many feet that had trampled upon them. Everything seemed right with the world because I was going to meet my friend for a glass of wine. You know that friend who just gets you? Who you don't have to explain everything too, and they laugh in all the right places. I was going to meet that friend and have a glass of wine and everything else could wait. It really was the best day ever. *Please note we are happy to ship this work rolled in an art tube. Whilst the work is on heavy duty art paper and mixed media, the artist is happy that the painting will be fine rolled in a tube. This is a more cost effective and environmentally sound method of shipping. Shipping via this method is free. About Isabel Rock and her work: Taking inspiration from Japanese woodblock prints and Indian miniature painting Rock has developed a unique collage technique that combines bold structures with large-scale woodblock prints and intricate detailing. The subject is a grand mixture of humour, drama, hidden morals, fanciful characters, modern culture, mythical beings and fantastical situations. Rock creates a world that pulls you in and demands your attention. Quality of line is paramount, the drawings are created using a dipping pen and acrylic ink. An essential tool is a squirrel...
Category

2010s Surrealist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Paint, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Archival Paper, Pen

"Portrait of a Man" Grey Cubist Portrait
Located in Houston, TX
Surrealist portrait of a man with multiple shades of black, grey, and white. The painting is signed and dated in the bottom right corner. The painting is framed in a black frame with...
Category

2010s Surrealist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

Motherhood: Contemporary Surrealist Oil Painting by Sax Berlin
Located in Brecon, Powys
Motherhood is a self portrait of Sax Berlin’s experience as a single father. He had to be mother and father at a time when he was aggrieved after his beautiful wife Susan’s passing ...
Category

2010s Surrealist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

Sheba Raven Cloak, Hatshepsut - Original Painting of Egyptian Goddess Figure
Located in Chicago, IL
Oliver Hazard’s paintings are produced directly from his imagination and deals with a mixture of imagery he has witnessed in his travels, dreams, and read about in literature. The ar...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

"Mechanical Heart" Contemporary Green and Yellow Surrealist Portrait Painting
Located in Houston, TX
Colorful surrealist painting done by contemporary artist Henry David Potwin. This work shows a man with pastel colored features opening his shirt to reveal his mechanical heart and robot parts set against a vivid, yellow background. Signed at bottom right corner. Titled and dated on reverse. Currently unframed, but options are available. Artist Biography: Born in Dallas, Texas David Potwin is the oldest of three children. He first started to paint at the age of 8 years old. As a young boy, Potwin's family would summer vacation in Taos, New Mexico. During the family vacations in 1965, he met artist Eric...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Dream in Pink Modern Cuban Art Hyperrealism Mixed Media Surreal
Located in Houston, TX
LOOK FOR FREE SHIPPING AT CHECKOUT. Dreams in Pink was recently painted by the Cuban artist Brian Sanchez in 2023. It is oil and mixed media on linen .Dreams in Pink by Brian Sanchez shows the hyperrealism of modern Cuban art...
Category

2010s Surrealist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Mixed Media, Oil

SUENO PROFUNDO
Located in Los Angeles, CA
SUENO PROFUNDO OIL AND ACRILIC ON CANVAS SIGNED, 2013 EXHIBITED MUSEO DEL BANCO CENTRAL DE COSTA RICA 43.25 X 35.5 INCHES Sofía Ruiz was born in 1982....
Category

2010s Surrealist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil, Acrylic

Untitled (Two Woman in Blue Background) circa 1987 acrylic/canvas British artist
By Robert Lowe
Located in Rancho Santa Fe, CA
Robert Lowe was born in England in 1955. He moved to the USA in the 1980s. Lowe's work is very rare but can be found in museum collections such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Tampa Art...
Category

1980s Surrealist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Release Jealousy (Hummingbird, Portrait, Storytelling, Oil Painting)
Located in Kansas City, MO
Joseph Broghammer Release Jealousy (Hummingbird, Portrait, Storytelling, Oil Painting) Oil on Canvas Year: 2022 Size: 44x34in Signed by hand COA provided Ref.: 924802-1892 *on stret...
Category

2010s Surrealist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Green Virgin, Surrealist Oil on Canvas Painting by Hattakitkosol Somchai
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Hattakitkosol Somchai, Thai (1934 - 2000) Title: Green Virgin Year: 1970 Medium: Oil on Canvas, signed l.l. Size: 27.5 x 31.5 in. (69.85 x 80.01 cm)
Category

1970s Surrealist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Planting, Original Painting
Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
Artist Michael Wedge shows two figures installing parking meters in a mysterious landscape. A symbol of city streets stands out in the middle of a verdant fie...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

French Mod Surrealist Commedia dell'arte Circus Scene Oil Painting J.P. Serrier
Located in Surfside, FL
Jean Pierre Serrier (French, 1934-1989) Oil on canvas painting depicting four figures Hand signed lower right. Measures (frame) 26.5" x 30" wide, and (sight) 18.25." x 22.25" wide. Jean Pierre Serrier (1934 – 1989) was a French painter known for surrealism and absurdist art. Jean-Pierre Serrier was born in Montparnasse, Paris and attended the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris. the son of Louis and Solange Serrier. His father fought in World War II and became a prisoner of war. In 1940, as a six-year-old, he and his mother fled Paris for Corrèze in southwest France. Childhood memories of close escapes from German bombardments would later influence his absurdist philosophy of life. Passionate about drawing, in 1951 he applied and was admitted to the École nationale supérieure des arts appliqués et des métiers d'art in Paris. He shared an attic apartment in the 16th arrondissement with fellow student Jean-Baptiste Valadié. For income, he decorated shop windows. A trip to Spain provided motifs for early works. His student work might be characterized as art naïf (Naive art). While still a student, he sold a ceramic artwork to the poet and publisher Pierre Seghers, who would later commission drawings from him. He frequented jazz clubs in Saint-Germain des Près, and while listening to Sidney Bechet at the Vieux Colombier, he met his wife, Yvette.One of the last French Surrealist and follower of Nietzsche. His art conveyed the message to all of mankind that we are only human. The other Surrealist to center his art in philosophy was Rene Magritte whose paintings reflect his understanding of Sigmund Freud. He had his first exhibition in 1955, before being sent to Algeria to complete his military service. After graduating in 1955, he was drafted for military service, spent time in Germany and Morocco, and was sent to the front lines of the Algerian War. In 1959 he exhibited works at two Parisian galleries and at Juan-les-Pins on the Côte d'Azur. From 1961, he exhibited annually at the Salon des Artistes Français. In 1962, the City of Paris purchased his painting Un dimanche In 1961, Serrier made his first visit to the United States to exhibit at a New York gallery. In 1975 and 1979, he had successful exhibitions in New Orleans, and his work was included in art and news magazines, including Time and Newsweek. Beginning in the 1950s, his works included stylized portraits similar in some ways to the "big eyes" art of Margaret Keane, though it is uncertain that either artist influenced the other. Keane painted children, and so did Serrier, sometimes from life, but Serrier’s models are usually somewhat older, though uniformly slender and with androgynous features. A gallery owner introduced Serrier to American collectors Edgar Garbisch and his wife, Bernice Chrysler (daughter of Chrysler founder Walter P. Chrysler), who had a particular interest in naïve art; they commissioned a series of portraits from Serrier. At the same time, he met Reine Ausset in Paris, who in 1961 invited him to New York to take part in an exhibition at Galerie Norval on 57th Street. The show also included work by Moïse Kisling, and the exhibition program explicitly linked the two artists, saying that Serrier, who considered Moise Kisling "the Master," had found his own technique, but "the same vision joins the grand Kisling to the young Serrier: plenitude of shapes, sureness of palette, precision in outlines." In the 1960s he began painting slender, young, androgynous figures in groups, set in sparse landscapes with suggestions of the surreal and sometimes wearing costumes of the Commedia dell'arte. In some of these paintings the eyes of the figures are completely black, a motif that would continue in his later work. In 1965, he exhibited at Forest and Reed Gallery in London. Also in 1965, he discovered the small town of Martel, and with his old roommate Jean-Baptiste Valadié purchased a house that they opened as the gallery La Licorne (The Unicorn) in 1967. Responding to the political upheavals of May 1968 in France, and following the advice of Geneva gallery owner Roger Ferrero, Serrier's work became increasingly complex, idiosyncratic, and surreal. Imagery included the Tower of Babel, bodies suspended in space, and crowds of people all dressed alike, with identical features and entirely black eyes. Mannequins, playing cards, nudes, and levitating orbs also figured in the work. In a nod to Magritte, his men sometimes wear bowler hats. Another influence may have been the works of the Franco-Belgian surrealist Gaston Bogaert (1918-2008). Serrier's first major exhibit of these works, in Geneva in 1971, was titled Le Réalisme Fantastique. (Magic Realism) In 1972, he was made a member of the Société du Salon d'Automne, under whose auspices he was invited by the Polish government to exhibit in Warsaw in 1973, as part of a cultural exchange across the Iron Curtain. In 1976, he served on the jury of the Salon d'Automne. In 1975, New Orleans gallery owner Kurt E. Schon brought his work to several cities in the United States. A copiously illustrated monograph in English, Surrealism and the Absurd: Jean Pierre Serrier, was published in 1977. Author Thomas M. Bayer wrote: Serrier's world is one where—to use Friedrich Nietzche's term—the "human herd animal" is being confronted with the overwhelming task of coping with the world, his solitude, and at times, his resignation in the face of its monstrous size and duration. It is a world where the characterless, "blind" man faces the institutions, rules and symbols that made him into the being he now is…But Serrier does not lose himself in this world he portrays. He never forgets the old French tradition, the "black" humor, à la Molière. This classical humor at times is more felt than seen, in a manner that can be terribly funny, because it is horrifying, laughable, poignant and always true. Serrier told a friend, "In each of my paintings there's a message of hope amid the crowd of stereotypical figures. It could be an escaping dirigible, or a nymphet who flees like a deer under the red and blue trees of paradise...
Category

Mid-20th Century Surrealist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Last Leaves (young girl yellow shirt fall leave portrait figurative oil painting
Located in Quebec, Quebec
Rudolf Kosow’s Last Leaves is a hauntingly poetic oil painting that blends contemporary figurative painting with surrealism and symbolic composition. A young girl, her face rendered ...
Category

2010s Surrealist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Playing Tennis
Located in Lake Worth Beach, FL
Woman playing tennis, heavy oil impasto on canvas framed. Elisabeth Sabala Abelló (Barcelona, 1956). She studied industrial design at the School of Arts and Crafts in Barcelona ​and has a degree in Fine Arts, a specialty in painting, from the Central University of the same city. Sabala is a convinced figurative who has given all the prominence of her work to the representation of the human being in its most trivial aspects. At a time when the artistic landscape extols abstract and conceptual art focused on the great universal themes, Sabala continues to focus on the small defects that bring us closer to the collective and the human. The artistic progression of Sabala takes place, at first, from a bleak period to another vitalist and, later, from the representation of isolated characters (In the super, Reading the stories of​ the paintings) to the recreation of great concentrations of its peculiar individuals characterized in an endless number of situations (The Great Dance, The Girls of the Choir). Sabala's work is vital and touching, as well as scathing and satirical: it confronts its characters in the most varied situations, capturing, at the same time, the viewer's attention with an unusual juxtaposition of colors that do not seek chromatic harmony, but expression and movement through matter. In 1980 she won the first prize of a painting of the City of Castelldefels, and the following year she debuted individually in the Caixa Catalunya room, in Barcelona. In 1984, she was selected for the XXIII Joan Miró Drawing Prize, taking part in a traveling exhibition in Japan. He won the first prize of the International Painting Competition of Pollença (Mallorca) in 1985, and the following year he took part in a collective held at the Martano gallery in Turin. That same year of 1986 she obtained the Scholarship of Plastic Arts of the Generalitat de Catalunya. Sabala continues to hold personal shows in Barcelona, ​​Mallorca, Madrid, and Italy, and in 1989 she debuted in New York with an individual exhibition held at the Scott Alan Gallery. Since then she will reiterate his presence both in that city and in Paris, Berlin, Monaco, Amsterdam, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Hong Kong, etc. His works have been present at Interactive, ARCO, Art Forum, Art Jonction and New Art, as well as in various Spanish museums. • Studies: Fine Arts, University of Barcelona • Industrial Design, School of Arts and Crafts, Barcelona Main exhibitions Spain: • Barcelona: ◦ Arcs & Cracks​, 1990, 1992, Anna Benach 1993, Helena Ramos 1993 ◦ Maria Jose Castellvi 1996, 1997, 1999, 2001 “a wedding is a wedding” + Performance “Ella” ◦ 2004, 2006 “Fashion satisfaction” + Performance ◦ 2008 “Women's weapons” • Girona: ◦ Helena Ramos 1990, 1991, 1993, 1995 ◦ Cyprus Art...
Category

1980s Surrealist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Cotton Canvas, Oil

MEJOR SOLAS
Located in Los Angeles, CA
"MEJOR SOLAS" OIL AND ACRILIC ON CANVAS SIGNED AND DATED 2010 EXHIBITED MUSEO DEL BANCO CENTRAL DE COSTA RICA 47.5 X 59 INCHES Sofía Ruiz was born in ...
Category

2010s Surrealist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil, Acrylic

Protector (diptych)
Located in CAMPO REAL, ES
This artwork, part of the "Classical Series," is composed of two vertical canvases that engage in a dialogue through their shared symbolism and subtle narrative differences. At the t...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

Large Surrealist Royal College of Art LGBTQ+ Women painting Blue Foot Foliage
Located in Norfolk, GB
Isabel Rock is a creator of contemporary fairy tales. A graduate of the Royal College of Art in London, her work is an explosion of strange occurrences while a surreal narrative take...
Category

2010s Surrealist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Paint, Mixed Media, Archival Paper, Pen

Lovers and Others (unique mid century modern painting) - double sided artwork
Located in New York, NY
Nahum Tschacbasov Lovers and Others (Two Unique Works), 1978-1979 Gouache on Two-sided Paper (Two Signed Works) Hand signed twice: once on each side 11 × 15 inches (each side) A rare...
Category

Mid-20th Century Surrealist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Ink, Gouache

Jose Mijares Clown Painting
Located in Lake Worth Beach, FL
Artist/Designer; Manufacturer: Jose Mijares (Cuban, 1921-2004) Marking(s); notes: signed; 1950 Materials: oil on canvas Dimensions (H, W, D): 38.5"h, 28.5"w; 46.5"h, 36.75"w frame Ad...
Category

Mid-20th Century Surrealist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

4a
Located in Columbia, MO
Lithograph on Arches paper Exemplaire B/165 Leonor Fini was born in Argentina in 1907 but travelled and lived in Europe with her mother from a young age. By 1931, she was in Paris, ...
Category

1960s Surrealist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Lithograph, Archival Paper

Sacrifice - Surreal Painting of Golden Yellow Bird of Prey Hunting a Mouse
Located in Preston, GB
Sacrifice - Surreal Painting of Golden Yellow Bird of Prey Hunting a Mouse, by Contemporary British Artist Original, Oil on Canvas 30 x 30 inches Unframed The painting continue...
Category

Early 2000s Surrealist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Cotton Canvas, Oil, Canvas

The Precious Pearls - Original Oil on Canvas, Handsigned
Located in Paris, IDF
Modesto ROLDAN The Precious Pearls Original Oil on Canvas Handsigned on the bottom left On canvas 24 x 30 cm (c. 9.5 x 12 inch) Presentend in golden wood frame 33 x 37 cm (c. 13 x 1...
Category

1980s Surrealist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

Transplanting
Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
I used the activity of transplanting tree saplings as a way to connect the city and the country in this painting. I'm interested in surreal scenes where peopl...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

Kepmovr, Modernist Painting by Ernst Neizvestny
Located in Long Island City, NY
An oil painting by Ernst Neizvestny from 1984. An abstract modernist depiction of two figures in a dramatically expressive scene of pathos. Artist: Ernst Neizvestny Title: Kepmovr?...
Category

1980s Surrealist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

"The Water" (2024) By David Cheifetz, Oil on Aluminum Panel Painting
Located in Denver, CO
David Cheifetz's "The Water" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts an odd and richly colorful assortment of objects, with green and blue raindrops cascading down on the ...
Category

2010s Surrealist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

Investigation (bat fox bat oil painting surrealism figurative animal vintage)
Located in Quebec, Quebec
In "Investigation I", banal, everyday things meet in this painting to create an unusual, strange, absurd and ironical situation derived by the disproportional scale size of things. keywords; surrealism, animals, bat, oil painting, earth tones, figurative painting, strangeness, contemporary surrealistic, unsettling, contemporary figurative painting, dreams, symbolic composition, giant bat...
Category

2010s Surrealist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Hommage a Modigliani. Figurative Painting, Surrealism, Female nude, Polish art
Located in Warsaw, PL
Contemporary figurative oil on board painting by Polish artist Mariusz Zdybal. It is a surrealistic female nude of woman sleeping. On the right side of the composition there is paint...
Category

Early 2000s Surrealist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

Tree of life. Angel in red dress with lamb. 2002, canvas, oil, 140x110 cm
Located in Riga, LV
Tree of life. 2002, canvas, oil, 140x110 cm
Category

Early 2000s Surrealist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

"THE FUNNY SIDE OF ME"
Located in Los Angeles, CA
YURI MARTINEZ RAMOS "THE FUNNY SIDE OF ME" OIL ON CANVAS, SIGNED CUBAN-AMERICAN, C.2005 20 X 16 INCHES This piece is a type of self-portrait where I try to show the ones around me, I also have a funny side. Yuri Martinez Ramos was born in Havana, Cuba on November 24, 1964. He studied at the Elemental School of Plastic Arts from 1975 – 1979 and the National School of the Arts from 1979 – 1983. Martinez’ figurative paintings have been compared to Botero because of his satirical social commentary. His style, however, is uniquely his own with typically vibrant Latin colors and use of expressive magical realism. His paintings tell his story and the story of the Cuban dilemma. Martinez was granted permission by the US Justice Department after much effort with Cuban authorities to come to the US with his family and pursue his career outside Cuba. He now lives and works in Texas. Papillon Gallery...
Category

Early 2000s Surrealist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

"Fossil Fuel" Contemporary Pastel Surrealist Cityscape of Clowns Driving Cars
Located in Houston, TX
Pastel surrealist painting done by contemporary artist Henry David Potwin. The piece features a scene of four cars and clown-like figures racing on a bridge with a fire lit below. Potwin incorporates the history of Texas through the use of a Texan longhorn on the front of the car. Signed in the lower right corner. Titled and dated on reverse. Currently unframed, but options are available. Artist Biography: Born in Dallas, Texas David Potwin is the oldest of three children. He first started to paint at the age of 8 years old. As a young boy, Potwin's family would summer vacation in Taos, New Mexico. During the family vacations in 1965, he met artist Eric Gibberd...
Category

Early 2000s Surrealist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

"Couturier Giorgio Armani"
Located in Edinburgh, GB
In this painting I have depicted a whimsical world where fantasy and reality blend under a vintage patina. The main figure, a gnome, exudes a contemplative aura, imbued with the myst...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Shaosing Knobst Symbolic Taoist God - "Longevity Star", Acrylic on Panel, Framed
Located in Chicago, IL
The figure in this painting is like the popular but at the same time oddly obscure Taoist god called “Longevity Star”. Apparently he was an historical figure born bald and grey like ...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Acrylic, Panel

Figurative Surrealist Oil Painting, "Dile Que No"
Located in San Diego, CA
This is a one of a kind original oil and resin painting by San Diego artist, Julia San Roman. Its dimensions are 36" x 60" It is unframed. A certificate of authenticity will follow d...
Category

2010s Surrealist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Lemon Tree, Oil Painting
Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
City and country, and east and west meet in this surreal scene. A group of figures perform agricultural activities outside a city. Man pulls a tractor, woman ...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

"Salvador Dalí"
Located in Edinburgh, GB
This painting was inspired by girls. On a nudist beach, they froze on a rug. Like a city in the steppe. Eventually I met them, they became my muses, I repeatedly painted them naked i...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

Who Are These Angels CXLV, Oil Painting
Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
A mystical figure emerges from the divide of light and darkness. In this ethereal piece by artist Naoko Paluszak, the entity appears to be made of the same energy as where it came from. Naoko created both color balance and a robust contrasting composition that evokes strong emotion. Part of Naoko's signature Who Are These Angels series...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

Ace of Swords, Oil Painting
Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
"This painting is inspired by the tarot card called the 'Ace of Swords'," states artist Rachel Srinivasan. A veiled woman peeks behind a tall sword as she is ...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

Colorful Surreal Abstract Expressionist Painting of a Macabre Group of Clowns
Located in Houston, TX
Surreal abstract expressionist painting of a group of clowns in the style of Belgian painter James Ensor. Combining the macabre with the playful, the work features distorted clowns a...
Category

1990s Surrealist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Tempera

Konigsberg shout. 2006, oil on canvas, 74x85 cm
Located in Riga, LV
Konigsberg shout. 2006, oil on canvas, 74x85 cm
Category

Early 2000s Surrealist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Aurea
Located in CAMPO REAL, ES
"Aurea: A Tribute to the Golden Dot." In the fabric of the universe, mathematics reveals patterns that transcend time and space. In the fabric of art, these patterns intertwine with ...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

From A to Z
Located in CAMPO REAL, ES
At the heart of this clearly surrealist painting is a window, a portal to the outside world that holds multiple meanings and suggests a profound reflection on the human condition. On...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

Our Mysteries (Diptych)
Located in CAMPO REAL, ES
Our Mysteries is a diptych in oil on linen, where symbolism and texture come together to evoke deep emotions. With its panoramic dimensions of 200x81 cm, this work unfolds across two...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

Soulmate (white Swan Woman bather red green vintage surrealist oil painting)
Located in Quebec, Quebec
Soulmate is a superbe original painting on canvas depicting a woman bather next to a giant white Swan on a green lawn against an intense red sky. keywords; white Swan, woman bather,...
Category

2010s Surrealist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

"The Red Studio" - Surreal Figurative Interior Scene
Located in Soquel, CA
Surreal large-scale figurative abstract depicting two nude female figures in a red interior space juxtaposed by a bearded man seated next to a sculptural bust of a man, with a white skeleton in the foreground by Bay Area artist Michael Pauker (American, b. 1957). Titled "The Red Studio...
Category

Early 2000s Surrealist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Not so bad (cowboy hat western country vintage hat man oil painting light brown)
Located in Quebec, Quebec
Rudolf Kosow’s Not So Bad is a haunting contemporary surrealistic oil painting that evokes the aesthetic and ethos of Americana, tinged with an unsettling air of mystery and nostalgi...
Category

2010s Surrealist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

"Unzipped" Contemporary Pastel Blue Toned Risqué Surrealist Painting
Located in Houston, TX
Pastel blue-toned surrealist painting done by artist Henry David Potwin. This work features an enlarged unzipped zipper acting as a woman's genital parts. Signed at bottom left corner. Titled and dated on reverse. Currently unframed, but options are available. Artist Biography: Born in Dallas, Texas David Potwin is the oldest of three children. He first started to paint at the age of 8 years old. As a young boy, Potwin's family would summer vacation in Taos, New Mexico. During the family vacations in 1965, he met artist Eric Gibberd...
Category

2010s Surrealist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Ignorance is Bliss?
Located in Kingston, WA
In this oil painting, I've delved into surrealism to explore the themes of denial and escapism. The scene depicts a young girl blissfully swinging in a lush meadow, seemingly oblivio...
Category

2010s Surrealist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

"Skull Contemplating A Stone" Contemporary Pastel Surrealist Landscape Painting
Located in Houston, TX
Colorful, pastel-toned painting by contemporary artist Henry David Potwin. This work features a pink and yellow-toned landscape scene with a skull sitting at the bottom of a tree, contemplating a stone nearby. Signed at bottom left corner. Titled and dated on reverse. Currently unframed, but options are available. Artist Biography: Born in Dallas, Texas David Potwin is the oldest of three children. He first started to paint at the age of 8 years old. As a young boy, Potwin's family would summer vacation in Taos, New Mexico. During the family vacations in 1965, he met artist Eric Gibberd...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Busy (vintage ladies woman lingerie 3D oil painting paper branches surrealist)
Located in Quebec, Quebec
Busy is a tridimensional original painting on paper on branches depicting tailor ladies working taking body measurements along a path in a dark night. keywords; vintage tailor ladi...
Category

2010s Surrealist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Driftwood, Oil, Laid Paper

Icarus - Acrylic painting Pop art Vibrant colors Polish artist
Located in Warsaw, PL
ABOUT THE ARTIST MARTA RYNKIEWICZ is a Polish contemporary artist (born in 1983). She studied painting with Professor Henryk Czenik and graphic arts with Professor Jerzy Krechowic...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Scrappy (car wreck girl yellow dress toy surrealism scale nostalgia vintage)
Located in Quebec, Quebec
keywords; surrealism, humour, uncanny, yellow dress, little girl, car wreck, car incident, earth tones, oil painting, figurative painting, strangeness, conte...
Category

2010s Surrealist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Israeli Kibbutz Artist Judaica Shul Torah Ark Surrealist Gouache Painting
By Leo Roth
Located in Surfside, FL
Leo Roth (1914–2002), also known as Lior Roth, was an Israeli painter, born in 1914 in Austria-Hungary. (later Poland) In 1920, Roth moved to Germany and, in 1933, immigrated to Palestine. He studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris and completed frescoes in Italy and France in the 1950s. Roth first settled in Tel Aviv, then moved to Kvutzat Kinneret, then finally to Kibbutz Afikim where he remained until his death. He served as Director of the Art Academy of the Kibbutzim. In 1959, he was awarded the Jordan Valley Prize for Painting. Roth exhibited in the United States, Israel, Mexico, Spain, Holland, Sweden, and Denmark. He died in 2002. Education: 1930 School of Art, Duisberg-Hamborn, Germany, under Josef Doppelfeld Academy of Fine Arts, Hamburg, Germany 1951 Fresco and mural painting, Ecole nationale superiere des Beaux-Arts, Paris, France 1951 fresco in Italy Teaching: Director of Art Academy of the Kibbutzim Roth's work was influenced by Cubism and bears much in common with the work of compatriot painter Naftali Bezem. His colourful canvases contain biblical imagery and references to early Israeli pioneer culture. Selected Solo Exhibitions 2015 Home, Montefiore Art Gallery, Tel Aviv 2009 Kibbutz Machanayim Art Gallery 2000 Retrospective, Museum of Art, Kibbutz Ein Harod 1997 Oil paintings, Kibbutz Machanayim Art Gallery 1993 Solo Exhibition, Beit Yad Lebanim, Tiberias 1983 Oil paintings, ''Bet-Emanuel'', Ramat Gan 1980 Wilfrid Israel Museum, Oriental Art and Studies, Kibbutz Hazorea 1977 Tiroche Gallery, Old Jaffa 1976 Hatzrif Art Gallery, Be'er Sheva 1957 Oil paintings, Tel Aviv Art Museum 1950 Katz Gallery, Tel AvivSelected exhibitions 2000: Chaim Atar Art Museum, Ein Harod, Israel: The Works of Leo Roth: An Exhibition Selected Group Exhibitions 2014 Revelations, Jerusalem Print Workshop 2013 Group Exhibition, Yair Art Gallery, Tel Aviv 2008 The First Decade: Hegemony and Plurality, Ein Harod Art Museum 2000 Group...
Category

20th Century Surrealist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Paper, Gouache

Le Nid (The Nest)
Located in San Francisco, CA
This artwork "Le nid ( The Nest)" 1962 is an oil painting on canvas by renown French artist Jean Pierre Serrier, 1834-1989. It is signed, Titled, dated and insc...
Category

Mid-20th Century Surrealist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

La Princesa
Located in Los Angeles, CA
"LA PRINCESA" OIL AND ACRILIC ON CANVAS SIGNED, 2013 EXHIBITED MUSEO DEL BANCO CENTRAL DE COSTA RICA 43.5 x 35.25 INCHES Sofía Ruiz was born in 1982. ...
Category

2010s Surrealist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Still life with pumpkin - Figurative Oil Painting, Realism, Polish art
Located in Warsaw, PL
ZBIGNIEW WOZNIAK (b. 1952) Studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Wroclaw, at the Department of Glass and Ceramics. He is involved in painting, graphics and artistic glass design. He...
Category

2010s Surrealist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Modern Figurative Surrealism Watercolor Painting, Drawing California Artist
Located in Surfside, FL
"The Sadness of Mr. lapin After the Artist Left" Gary Hansmann (1947-2008) was active/lived in California. He is known for abstract, Surrealism figure painting. Gary William Hansmann was born Dec. 4, 1940, in San Diego to Ethel May Williams and Lester Hughes Hansmann. He grew up in Encinitas and served in the Army in the early 1960s. Gary Hansmann, San Diego artist, teacher and gallery owner, was known for his Surrealist nude and animal drawings and graphics. He spent time working in Paris and exhibiting his art throughout Europe, but San Diego was home until he moved to Washington state. His life partner was fellow artist, Jill Hosmer. Mr. Hansmann, a respected printmaker and prolific artist, created thousands of drawings, prints and paintings as well as hundreds of poems. His interest in bullfighting led to a book of poetry and illustrations on the subject, “La Corrida, The Run”, a collection of poetry & artwork written as he was preparing for his first bullfight. Prologue written by famous Mexican Matador Antonio Lomelin. The book is written in English and translated into Spanish on opposing pages and was published in 1983. Mr. Hansmann taught intaglio and monotype at the Academy of Fine Arts in San Diego from 1977 to 1980 and at the San Diego Museum of Art in 1980. He also gave lectures and demonstrations throughout the art community, including at the San Diego Art Guild in Del Mar and Artist Equity in San Diego. Although he attended Palomar College in San Marcos and studied lithography at the San Diego Academy of Fine Arts, Mr. Hansmann was mostly self-taught and self-educated. Mr. Hansmann had shows in several art-world capitals, including Paris; Lisbon, Portugal; Cologne, Germany; Brussels, Belgium; and New York. he had one-person exhibits at the Loft Gallery in Clarkston, the Lewis-Clark State College Center of Arts & History, the Carnegie Art Center in Walla Walla and the Valley Art Center in Clarkston. During his long, distinguished career as an artist he had numerous one-person exhibits all over the world and the United States. His group shows are too numerous to mention, but his one-person exhibits were in Koln, Germany; Bruxelles, Belgium; Paris, France; Viana do Castelo, Portugal; Lisbon, Portugal; Tecate, Mexico; and British Columbia, Canada; and many states at home. Palomar College, San Marcos, Calif. San Diego Academy of Fine Arts Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, N.Y. University of Southern California, Idyllwild (ISOMATA) University of San Diego San Diego Museum of Art James Copley Library, La Jolla, Calif. Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana, Venice, Italy Centre de Arte Moderna Gulbenkian Foundation, Lisbon, Portugal Museo Taurino de la Communidad de Madrid, Madrid, Spain Atelier Lacouriere et Frelaut, Paris, France Gordon Gilkey Collection Portland Art Museum, Portland, Or. Coos Art Museum, Coos Bay...
Category

1980s Surrealist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Paper, India Ink, Watercolor

"SYMPHONY IN D-MINOR"
Located in Los Angeles, CA
YURI MARTINEZ RAMOS "SYMPHONY IN D-MINOR" OIL ON CANVAS, SIGNED, TITLED CUBAN-AMERICAN, DATED 2005 40 X 30 INCHES Symphony in D Minor is the "music" Cuban people have to perform every day to survive a decadent system that has pushed people to the limit. A prostitute looking for living on the street, a musician playing for no tourist, a rounded stage that depicts the enclosing system from where you cannot escape, vigilant red birds are the government-symbol watching everywhere, controlling your miserable life. -D- minor instead of a chord is Destruction, Deplorable. Yuri Martinez Ramos was born in Havana, Cuba on November 24, 1964. He studied at the Elemental School of Plastic Arts from 1975 – 1979 and the National School of the Arts from 1979 – 1983. Martinez’ figurative paintings have been compared to Botero because of his satirical social commentary. His style, however, is uniquely his own with typically vibrant Latin colors and use of expressive magical realism. His paintings tell his story and the story of the Cuban dilemma. Martinez was granted permission by the US Justice Department after much effort with Cuban authorities to come to the US with his family and pursue his career outside Cuba. He now lives and works in Texas. Papillon Gallery...
Category

Early 2000s Surrealist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Figurative Surrealism, "Tara Goddess of Love and Compassion"
Located in San Diego, CA
This is a pre-owned secondary market painting by Gloria Muriel. It is a framed figurative surrealist painting made with acrylic paint on canvas. Its dimensions are 9.5 x 13.5 in (L x...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Surrealist figurative paintings for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Surrealist figurative paintings available for sale on 1stDibs. Works in this style were very popular during the 21st Century and Contemporary, but contemporary artists have continued to produce works inspired by this movement. If you’re looking to add figurative paintings created in this style to introduce contrast in an otherwise neutral space in your home, the works available on 1stDibs include elements of blue, orange, purple, red and other colors. Many Pop art paintings were created by popular artists on 1stDibs, including Rudolf Kosow, Carlos Gamez De Francisco, Henry David Potwin, Ferjo, and Fernando de Jesus Oliveira. Frequently made by artists working with Paint, and Oil Paint and other materials, all of these pieces for sale are unique and have attracted attention over the years. Not every interior allows for large Surrealist figurative paintings, so small editions measuring 2.13 inches across are also available. Prices for figurative paintings made by famous or emerging artists can differ depending on medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $1 and tops out at $400,000, while the average work sells for $3,770.

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