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Surrealist 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
Color:  Black
Surreal Composition, Madrid 1939
Located in Buffalo, NY
Oil on board by Spanish artist Mariano Andreu Estany (1888-1976). Amazing quality and fine detail. Excellent original condition. Signed lower left, "Mariano Andreu '39". Image si...
Category

1930s Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Oil

Family Day Off - London modern cityscape wildlife surreal abstract oil painting
Located in London, Chelsea
In this contemporary surrealist painting Nathan Neven juxtaposes a familiar city scene and classic underground entrance with the unusual presence of apes. This charming dream-like sc...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Sapient Business-original abstract surreal wildlife oil painting-modern art
Located in London, Chelsea
This original artwork by Nathan Neven joyfully presents an unusual scene of wildlife merged with a grand interior space. The artist adds contemporary touches to his subject matter su...
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21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Live it Up-original surreal contemporary wildlife interior painting- modern art
Located in London, Chelsea
"Live it Up" by Nathan Neven is a captivating masterpiece that seamlessly blends abstract expressionism with a playful composition. In this oil on canvas creation, two ostriches and...
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21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Midnight on the Water- original surrealism landscape painting - contemporary Art
Located in London, Chelsea
"Midnight on the Water and How It Used to Be" by George Callaghan is a captivating exploration of a mystical nocturnal landscape, where the boundaries...
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21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Ancient Stock Route - original surrealism landscape painting - contemporary Art
Located in London, Chelsea
"Ancient Stock Route" by George Callaghan is a mesmerizing journey through a dreamlike realm, where reality merges with imagination in a captivating d...
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21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

The High St - original surrealism landscape cityscape painting- contemporary Art
Located in London, Chelsea
"The High St" by George Callaghan beckons viewers into a bustling thoroughfare teeming with life and energy. Unlike some of George's other tranquil la...
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21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Yves Bady AL-Dahdah (Lebanese 1941) Lady of the Vines, 1981, Surrealist Painting
Located in Meinisberg, CH
Yves Bady AL-Dahdah (Lebanese, 1942) Lady of the Vines • Oil or Acrylic on heavy fibre board ca. 46 x 38 cm x 0.5 cm • Signed and dated lower left (19)81 •...
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1980s Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Paint, Fiberboard

Rising - Surreal Landscape with Row of Trees and Owl, Oil on Panel
Located in Chicago, IL
The pristine, symmetrical and orderly landscape brings an unnatural stillness to John Hrehov's painting entitled "Rising". The owl is central to the sparse landscape peeking out of it's home in the tree. Straight lines and geometric patterns are used to compose a glossy concept of reality. The painting is framed in a simple dark gray wooden frame measuring 25.25 x 29.25 inches. John Hrehov Rising oil on panel 24h x 28w in 60.96h x 71.12w cm JHR012 John Hrehov Education 1985 MFA-Painting, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 1981 BFA-Painting, Cleveland Institute of Art, Cleveland, OH. Solo Exhibitions 2017 John Hrehov, Paintings and Drawings. Tom Thomas Gallery, Indiana University East, Richmond, IN. 2012 Shades from White to Black, New Drawings. Denise Bibro Fine Art, New York, NY. 2011 John Hrehov: Charcoal. Indiana University - Purdue University Fort Wayne. 2009 John Hrehov: A Survey 1999-2009 Denise Bibro Fine Art, New York, NY. Paintings and Drawings. Seerveld Gallery, Trinity Christian College, Palos Heights, IL. 2004 John Hrehov: Drawings and Paintings. Denise Bibro Fine Art, New York, NY. 2002 Paintings. Denise Bibro Fine Art, New York, NY. 2001 Charcoal. Indiana University - Purdue University Fort Wayne. John Hrehov, Paintings and Drawings. Wood Street Gallery, Chicago, IL. 2000 The Picture Proper. Denise Bibro Fine Art, New York, NY. Fearful Symmetry. Fort Wayne Museum of Art, Fort Wayne, IN. Allegories in Contemporary Life. Yvonne Rapp Gallery, Louisville, KY. 1999 Paintings and Working Drawings. Adams Hall Gallery, Wheaton College, Wheaton, IL. 1998 John Hrehov. Denise Bibro Fine Art, New York, NY. John Hrehov: Paintings and Drawings. Wood Street Gallery, Chicago, IL. 1997 Object Lesson, Paintings, and Drawings by John Hrehov. Yvonne Rapp Gallery, Louisville, KY. 1995 John Hrehov. Trinity Art Gallery, Trinity Christian College, Palos Heights, IL. 1993 John Hrehov: Selected Works 1980-1992 Indiana University - Purdue University Fort Wayne. Group Exhibitions 2019 2019 Alumni Exhibition. Reinberger Gallery at The Cleveland Institute of Art, Cleveland, OH. Out Of The Closet. Denise Bibro Fine Art, New York, NY. 1026 West Berry Street: The Fort Wayne Art School. Fort Wayne Museum of Art, Fort Wayne, IN. 2018 Artlink Regional Exhibition. Artlink Contemporary Art Gallery, Fort Wayne, IN. 2017 Sola Grace-Faith-Scripture: An Exhibition of Sacred Visual Art. Good Shepherd Institute at Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, IN. Norman Bradley...
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2010s Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Panel, Oil

Liberation, Oil Painting
Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
A woman character is shown floating near an open window, where a giant bluebird is waiting as a spirit animal guide. The bird serves as a reminder to not give u...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Oil

Elements, Surrealism, Chicago Artist, Planets
Located in Grand Rapids, MI
William Samuel Schwartz (Russian/American, 1896-1977) Signed: William S Schwartz (Lower, Left) " Elements ", c. 1928-29 (Date based Upon 8 Pl...
Category

Early 20th Century Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Modern Figurative Surrealism Watercolor Painting, Drawing 'The Fire of my Soul'
Located in Surfside, FL
On heavy Arches deckle edged paper. This combines text or poetry in calligraphy on the side. 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 Paintings

Materials

Paper, India Ink, Watercolor

Antique American Surreal Landscape Dog & Horse Animal Portrait Rare Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Vintage American modernist surreal landscape dog and horse portrait painting. Oil on canvas, circa 1976. Signed. Framed. Image size, 19"L x...
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1960s Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

French Surrealist Trompe L'oeil Apples OIl Painting
By Lucien Mathelin
Located in Surfside, FL
size uncludes frame. Lucien Mathelin, born in 1905 in Binche, A province of Hainaut, in Wallonia, Belgium, and died in 1981 in Paris. French painter. His work was influenced by surrealism andtinged with irony. Lucien Mathelin was born in a family of artists and has benefited from artistic training since childhood. He made his first oil on canvas at the age of 15 in 1920. In 1924, he exhibited at the Salon d'Automne which he became a member. He did not study plastic arts, but traveled to Morocco (1925-1926) and Greece (1933-1934), where he enriched his palette. In 1937, Mathelin worked for a while for Raoul Dufy to realize the gigantic painting...
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20th Century Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Girl in Green
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
This artwork beautifully portrays the poignant story of a young girl who bravely faces the absence of her father at home, as he fulfills his honorable duty as a soldier. It delves into the complex emotions she experiences, capturing the resilience she must summon to navigate the challenges of growing up without his presence. Through this touching depiction, the artist sheds light on the sacrifices made by military families and the profound impact it has on the lives of children. Shipping Procedure Ships in a well-protected tube from Nigeria This work is unique, not a print or other type of copy. Accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity. About Artist Daniel Oguche...
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21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil, Acrylic

Be Brave
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
Shipping Procedure Ships in a well-protected tube from Nigeria This work is unique, not a print or other type of copy. Accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity (Issued by the Gal...
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21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Tell me more - surreal painting
Located in New York, NY
This piece comes framed! Frame size is 53X43 cm. About Lena: I hail from Minsk, Belarus, but spent some of my childhood visiting my father in Ukraine. At the age of 14, my family repatriated to Israel, where I pursued my passion for the arts. I honed my skills as a graphic designer while serving in the Israeli army, and later earned a degree from the prestigious Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in Jerusalem. My artistic journey has taken me far and wide, with my first and second solo exhibitions held in Japan, followed by numerous group and solo exhibitions across various countries. One of my most notable accomplishments includes creating 50 portraits for the ANU Museum Diaspora wall. In my personal works, I am fascinated by the dynamics of human relationships, both interpersonal and intrapersonal. I enjoy blending diverse sources of inspiration, such as mythological themes and classical paintings, and fusing them with contemporary culture and literature. You'll often find my pieces adorned with ornate patterns and motifs that reflect different cultural and historical contexts. CHOSEN ART EXHIBITIONS 2023 - group exhibition against the war in Ukraine - Everything is Univocal - ROAR, online VR Museum Space on Spatial 2022 - personal exhibition, Jewish Pirat, Ethiopian Queen - Eesti Lastekirjanduse Keskuse Illustratsioonigaleriis, Tallinn, Estonia 2022 - Shall i compare thee to a summer's day - group exhibition, that opens a new Diyuan Art Museum, China 2022 - Fox Spirit. Fox Charm, group exhibition, Estonia 2021 - Fluid Love, group exhibition, Teo Gallery, Israel 2020 - Mariner’s Talmud Tales, group exhibition, Jaffa Museum, Israel 2020 – Amoureusement Papier, group exhibition, Galerie Les Souliers Rouges, France 2019 - Diaspora Wall, permanent exposition of 50 portraits, ANU Museum, Israel 2019 – A Midwinter Night’s Dream, group exhibition, FROOTS Gallery, Shanghai, China 2018 – personal exhibition, Eesti Lastekirjanduse Keskuse Illustratsioonigaleriis, Tallinn, Estonia 2018 – group exhibition, FROOTS Gallery, Shanghai, China 2018 – personal exhibition, Karuizawa New Art Museum, Nagano, Japan 2018 – group exhibition, The Story Museum in Oxford, England 2017 – group exhibition, LesArt, Berlin, Germany 2015 – Israeli Glass...
Category

2010s Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Acrylic, Watercolor

1950’s French Surrealist Signed Oil Painting Cubist Blue Green Cream Abstract
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Tristan Fabris 1950's, French Surrealist artist Abstract Surrealist Figurative study oil on canvas, framed signed and dated 55' inscribed verso framed: 25 x 33 inches canvas: 23 x 32...
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Mid-20th Century Surrealist 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 Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

Avant-garde Surrealism Last Supper in Modern Brush Strokes of Dark Cool Tones
Located in ALCOY/ALCOI, ES
«Última cena» Collection: Muses Description: Acrylic on canvas, figurative, dark, Surrealism, modern "When a successful man with social prestige is pursued by some women who only see him as a means to take advantage of his success, without realizing that they are being watched by the owner of his heart." The artwork in question may be a visual representation of the complex dynamics at play in a love triangle. The man is described as successful and prestigious, with a position of power and influence that makes him a target for women who seek to take advantage of his status. However, there is also a suggestion that the man is not free to pursue these women, as he is already claimed by someone else. The focus is on the emotional tension and drama of the situation, with the viewer invited to imagine the thoughts and feelings of all parties involved. The artwork may convey a sense of longing, jealousy, or betrayal, with the owner of the man's heart struggling to come to terms with the attention he is receiving from other women. Overall, the artwork explores the complexities of love and desire, as well as the ways in which social status and power can impact our relationships with others. Victoria...
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2010s Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

The Knight. 1993. Canvas, oil, 75x42 cm
Located in Riga, LV
The Knight. 1993. Canvas, oil, 75x42 cm Vladimirs Pavlovs (1950) Born May 6, 1950 in Riga. In 1981 he graduated from the department of artistic construction of the Academy of Arts. ...
Category

1990s Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Pig in space
Located in London, GB
From glorious observations of the everyday to the surreal, Julie Fleming-Williams’ work is as eclectic as it is engaging. Julie has exhibited at the Royal Academy and her paintings h...
Category

2010s Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Board, 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...
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2010s Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Mixed Media, Oil

Interior Jungle - Original Unique Artwork
Located in London, GB
Interior Jungle 2021 Original Unique Artwork oil on linen Interior Jungle 2021 oil on linen 46 x 36 cm A figure surreal looking figure seemingly without a face sits on a red and white patterned sofa in an interior. Sarah Jeffries...
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2010s Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Oil

Enjoy Life #1
Located in Singapore, SG
Many people feel that life is heavy with all its problems and complexities. Whereas the beauty of life can be found in simple things such as the sight of small children playing in th...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Bulb of Africa 2
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
Bulb of Africa was not just a hairstyle; it was a celebration of African heritage and a testament to the resilience of its people. Passed down through generations, it represented strength, beauty, and the rich tapestry of African traditions. The Bulb showcased the natural texture and volume of African hair, transforming it into an intricate masterpiece of braids, twists, and coils. The Bulb of Africa became a symbol of empowerment, reminding people of their strength, resilience, and the beauty of their shared heritage. It served as a reminder that hair was more than a physical attribute; it was a connection to something greater—a connection to their ancestors, their community, and celebrating the beauty within themselves. Beyond their physical beauty, African women possess an immeasurable inner strength that resonates through "Bulb of Africa." Odunayo masterfully captures this strength, highlighting the resilience and determination that have defined African women throughout history. The women depicted in the artwork emanate confidence, wisdom, and a sense of purpose. Their gaze speaks volumes, embodying the stories of countless African women who have overcome adversity, shattered barriers, and carved out their own paths to success. In "Bulb of Africa," Iyiola Odunayo...
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21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

The Choices
Located in Singapore, SG
Smart people learn from their own mistakes while wise people learn from the mistakes of others. Options have always existed throughout the history of human life. Sometimes the choice...
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21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

French Contemporary Art By Helen Uter - Station Sèvres-Lecourbe
Located in Paris, IDF
Oil on canvas Helen Uter is an established Franco-American painter born in 1955 who lives and works in Donnery, near Orléans, France. Heavily influenced by Edward Hopper, she creat...
Category

2010s Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Blue Monday - figurative painting
Located in New York, NY
This landscape painting by Henryk was done in 2022. It will ship from the artists studio in Poland. More about Henryk Laskowska: Henryk Laskowski has been working as a graphic design...
Category

2010s Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Dialogue #2
Located in Singapore, SG
A little girl in the wilderness is interacting with a deer, a wolf, a rabbit, a squirrel, and a butterfly. There are so many life lessons that we can learn from nature. Deer are grac...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Dialogue #1
Located in Singapore, SG
A young child in the wilderness, playing with a butterfly and a tiger. There are so many life lessons that we can learn from nature. The beautiful butterfly symbolizes that in life, ...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

"Ubud, Bali" Signed Indonesian Artist
By Iny Suwija
Located in Surfside, FL
Dimensions w/Frame 12.5" x 15" Artist: INY SUWIJA Medium: Acrylic on Canvas Subject: Landscape Style: Surrealism Region of Origin: Asia "Ubud, a town in central Bali, is far remo...
Category

1990s Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

"Onyx" Mixed Media Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Aiden Kringen's (US based) "Onyx" is an original handmade oil painting that is unframed, but ready to hang. About the Artist: A kaleidoscopic fantasia—crystalline planes floating in space, nestling together like immaculate puzzle pieces—abstract nebulae, human figures and faces enveloped in swirling fields or particles of energy—these number among the images evoked by the hauntingly enigmatic paintings of artist Aiden Kringen. Within this worldview a mysterious network of interlocking planes becomes visible to the beholder: mystical fields of unknown substance revealed as the building blocks of our bodies and semblances, surrounding, cocooning, perhaps even protecting us. It is a vision verging on the mystical, which Kringen portrays through a distinctive style: a fractured, cubistic mode of conscious- ness in which multiple dimensions or perspectives assimilate into an ecstatic whole. The artist deploys this style in opulent and seductive portraits as well as abstract tableaux whose optical signature is magnified by compositional dynamism and deeply layered surfaces. Born in Los Angeles in 1992, Kringen lived variously in the American West and Mexico—Sebastopol, Jalisco, Portland, Flagstaff—before settling in the hill- and vineyard-dotted environs of Sonoma, County, where he is now based. In these very different environments, each of which possesses a uniquely picturesque natural beauty, the artist began from an early age to develop his aesthetic approach. He has always had a keen eye for detail, grounded in a gift for looking closely at the human experience. “I’ve always been interested in observing people,” he recalls, “and in the details of how we interact with one another.” He put this natural ability to task when he began working on illustration and graphic-design projects while in high school. From his mother, an artist and graphic designer, he learned the fundamentals of composition and typography, the nuances of positive and negative space and the relationships between them. Using sheets of Letracet—a system for transfer- ring typeface—proved particularly instrumental in developing a methodology for layering and collage, which continue to inform his works on canvas and paper. He learned old-school tech- niques, hands-on and mechanical, in keeping with a Bauhaus-like appreciation for perfectionism, integrity, and hard work. Kringen began painting at 14. Then as now, drawing was central to his approach. He studied vintage anatomy atlases and drew meticulously in his journals, working through myriad permutations of bones and skin, angle and pose, muscles in motion. Honing his natural talent for figuration through long and exhaustive study, he arrived at an understanding of the figure that is both intuitive and virtuosic. On acrylic and mixed media on canvas, Kringen lays down linework with a Micron pen in ever-more-complex compositions, often with the addition of gloss mediums to bring out the layers’ reflectivity and prismatic character. In some pieces he incorporates gold and silver leaf to heighten drama and luxuriance, recalling the mosaic-like work of Gustav Klimt—who, along with fellow Austri- an Expressionist Egon Schiele, stands among Kringen’s most prominent influences. It was in 2011 that he began painting in the style with which he is now most associated: a technique fusing drawing and painting, line and brushstroke, with fragmented shapes undergirding the imag- ery. Notably, this is not simply a stylistic conceit, but more a way of perceiving reality. “Ever since I was young,” Kringen notes, “I’ve spent most of my time observing people: trying to break people down, in a visual sense, into small categorizations of their features, their mannerisms, the way they twitch their nose...” His hypersensitivity to likeness and gesture is key, for this is what distinguishes his portraits from those by artists who strive to depict idealized beauty as an end in itself. Yes, there is an undeniable beauty to Kringen’s subjects, but it does not follow strictly conventional paradigms. There is an individuality, a capturing of idiosyncracies and eccentricities, of optimism and fatalism, light and dark, in his work. He is not painting archetypes, but rather illuminating the essential charac- ters of real people in a highly refined genre of psychological portraiture. The fragmented linework, the grids of planes he uses as lenses to focus these characteristics, is sui generis but never gimmicky; above all it is a tool for defining and refining the features of the face, adding depth and definition. In his abstract work he uses similar techniques, paring the fabric of perception itself down to bare essentials of form, color, and texture. The abstract pieces are simultaneously elegant and complex, combining the sweeping gesturalism of Abstract Expressionism with the rigorous structure of geomet- ric painting. Across the breadth of his output Kringen balances technical and thematic polarities into bracing integrations of sensuality and grittiness, inviting contemplation into the nature of opticality and the infinite possibilities of the seen and unseen. —Richard Speer is a contributor to ARTnews, Artpulse, Visual Art Source, and Surface Design. His essays and reviews have appeared in The Los Angeles Times, The Chicago Tribune, The New York Post, The Oregonian, Salon, Newsweek, and Opera News. He is the author of “Matt Lamb...
Category

2010s Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas, Acrylic

Surrealist Female Nude in Industrial Landscape Oil Painting, 1930s Modern
By Virginia True
Located in Denver, CO
Oil on board. Surrealist/Modernist painting with a female nude reaching into a wood burning stove, hilly landscape with barn, houses, still life with a bowl of fruit, stormy sky and a small male figure. Presented in a custom frame, outer dimensions measure 29 ¼ x 35 x ¾ inches. Image size is 24 ¼ x 30 inches. Provenance: Private Collection, Colorado About the Artist: The daughter of a classically-trained pianist mother and a concert violinist father, she had an intellectually stimulating upbringing enhanced by Christian Science values. After graduation from high school in Hannibal, Missouri, she enrolled in the College of Education at Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana in 1919. Soon, however, she gave up the idea of becoming a teacher and entered at the John Herron Art Institute (whose collections are now part of the Indianapolis Museum of Art). The Institute’s early faculty included artists from the Hoosier Group trained at the Royal Academy in Munich, Germany, who educated artists in the realist tradition. True’s teacher and mentor, William Forsyth, gave her an excellent foundation in drawing and the technical aspects of painting and composition. When the failure of her father’s business in the early 1920s forced her to start earning a living, the Herron Institute hired her as an instructor for its art school, allowing her to support herself while she finished her studies. Following graduation from the Institute in 1925, she received a one-year scholarship to the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia. Her former teacher William Forsyth wrote in his recommendation: "I can say without exaggeration that she was one of the best pupils I ever had during the twenty-five years I was a teacher at the John Herron Art School." At the Academy, she studied with Daniel Garber, an impressionist landscape painter associated with the New Hope art colony, and Hugh Breckenridge noted for his bold palette and expressionistic use of color, as well as the abstract work he started doing by 1922. She also studied briefly in the art department at Columbia University, perhaps in1928 when she produced some of her New York street scenes. From Pennsylvania, she returned to Indiana teaching for several years at Shortridge High School in Indianapolis. She also began showing her work at several area venues, including the Herron Institute, the Artists of Indiana, and the Hoosier Salon held early on in Chicago. Among the Salon’s exhibitors were Gustave Baumann, Victor Higgins, and Olive Rush, who either were Indiana natives or whose careers included connections with the state. By the 1920s all three of them had become associated with the Santa Fe and Taos art colonies. In the summer of 1928 True experienced both New Mexico communities and Southwest culture firsthand with Francis Hoar and her husband Clement Trucksess, her friends from the Herron Institute. They had relocated to Boulder in 1927 and were teaching at the University of Colorado. She recorded in her journal her initial reaction to the New Mexico landscape: "Might I preserve on canvas my thrill and deep feeling of the grand things of nature I have beheld today….There’s a wideness in God’s country that expresses peace to me." Inspired by her trip, True created a group of watercolors for her solo exhibition in 1928 at the Lieber Gallery in Indianapolis. They marked a transition from the realist style she learned at the Herron Institute to the more modernist, semi-abstract one she soon adopted. In the summer of 1929, she accepted an instructor’s position on the faculty of the Fine Arts Department at the University of Colorado (CU) in Boulder. She after that joined the Art Association of Boulder founded in 1923 by Mrs. Jean Sherwood, an art patron and club woman who relocated from Chicago to teach at the Boulder Chautauqua. Sherwood helped convince Dean Fred B...
Category

1930s Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Oil

Italian Surrealist Colorful Metal Enamel Plaque Painting Wall Hanging Art Luigi
Located in Surfside, FL
Biomorphic Surrealism. Signed Luigi, Enamel on metal (probably copper). Mounted to a plexi or acrylic purple mounting. I am assuming it is Italian as it is signed Luigi but it might ...
Category

20th Century Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Enamel

The Virgen & Child, Oil, Mixed Media, Hyperrealism, Modern Cuban Art, Surreal
Located in Houston, TX
LOOK FOR FREE SHIPPING AT CHECKOUT. The Virgin and Child - La Virgen y Nino was recently painted by the Cuban artist Brian Sanchez in 2023. It is oil and mi...
Category

2010s Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Mixed Media, Oil

Portrait de Femme ( Self Portrait ? )
Located in Miami, FL
This is a possible self portrait by the famed female surrealist artist. It is also strikingly similar in style with it's exaggerated eyes to her portrait of Jean Genet, ( Leonor F...
Category

1940s Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Not complete stranger - 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 Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Atlas Served, Original Contemporary Playful Surrealist Narrative Oil Painting
Located in Boston, MA
Atlas Served, Original Contemporary Playful Surrealist Narrative Painting 49" x 28" x 1.5" (HxWxD) Oil and Print on Canvas A humorous work by artist Sarah Jacobs...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil, Color

Street in Old Aleppo No.5
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
Nitmat Badawi’s work is of two themes, urban landscape in Aleppo, and figurative of ordinary innocent faces, particularly of women and children. The first theme of inspired by Aleppo...
Category

2010s Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Christ and the Woman of Samaria
Located in Naples, FL
Characterized by his deeply honest means of expression and fascination with Orientalism, Surrealism, and social commentary, Moscow painter Stanislav Plutenko...
Category

2010s Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Giclée

What is Behind, Oil, Mixed Media, Hyperrealism, Modern Cuban Art, Surreal
Located in Houston, TX
LOOK FOR FREE SHIPPING AT CHECKOUT What is Behind (Lo que esta atras) shows the hyperrealism of modern Cuban art that is now available to the world art market. What is Behind is one of many of the hyperrealism paintings by the artist. Brian Sanchez...
Category

2010s Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Mixed Media, Oil

"It's Only the Wind" Acrylic Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Mary Carroll's (US based) "It's Only the Wind" is an original, handmade acrylic painting that depicts a lone house at night with a few lights illuminating its windows. Artist Biogr...
Category

2010s Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Acrylic, Panel

HAVANA Cuba Mid Century Surreal Male Nude Graphic Painting, Gay Interest
Located in New York, NY
Here we have a Surreal Male Nude by a famous Cuban artist Carlos Macia (1951-1994). *** please excuse the photos, it is under glass and there are reflections of a yellow light. I’v...
Category

1980s Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Acrylic, Graphite

The Guardians - 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 Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Nighttime Greenery
Located in Denver, CO
Acrylic paint on raw canvas.
Category

2010s Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

"Untitled, " Acrylic Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Ifeoluwa Alade ( Nigeria based) "Untitled" is an original, handmade acrylic painting that depicts a female model with colorful butterflies and a dark background. Artist bio: Ifeol...
Category

2010s Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Acrylic, Canvas

Battle Against the Invisible Enemy
Located in Singapore, SG
The COVID-19 pandemic is a very dangerous threat. Not only to the nation and state but to all mankind. And this enemy is invisible. That's what makes it hard to detect. Fight against...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Surrealist Large Painting Royal College of Art LGBTQ+ Women artist Green Blue
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 Paintings

Materials

Mixed Media, Woodcut, Paint, Acrylic, Archival Paper, Pen

1960's British Surrealist Oil Painting - 'Fairy Pool' Fantasy Abstract
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Stunning original oil painting by Elvic Steele depicting this surrealist fantasy abstract painting. Elvic Steele is a fascinating English painter. Her works entrance the observer, d...
Category

Mid-20th Century Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Oil

White Rose, Flowers, Original Oil Painting, Handmade Artwork
Located in Granada Hills, CA
Artist: Aibek Begalin, Work: Original Oil on Panel, handmade artwork, Medium: Oil on Canvas Panel, Year: 2022 Style: Realism, Subject: White Rose, Size: 9" x 12" inch, 23 x 30 cm Unf...
Category

2010s Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Cardboard, Oil

"Guernica / Subliminal, " Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Gregory Block's (US based) "Guernica / Subliminal" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts the abstracted forms of a watery landscape with plants growing. Gregory was bo...
Category

2010s Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Oil

Nevermore, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas
Located in Yardley, PA
"Nevermore" is painted with acrylic on a 24 x 24 x 1.5 inch gallery-wrapped canvas, edge painted black, ready to hang. This expressive, colorful, and whimsical image is a reflectio...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

Exotic Story
Located in Singapore, SG
This painting illustrates the story of the worldly desires of humans who never feel that they have enough, always wanting more in terms of fashion, position, wealth and so on. It is human nature to always desire to pursue something they consider beautiful and exotic. About the Artist Saepul Bahri is an established painter from Indonesia with a distinctive surrealist style with flexible and twisted human body figures. He has an interest in body anatomy and started painting human bodies with their bones when he was in middle school. Saepul also likes the imagination of the sea and waves, this is what then gives the shapes of flexibility and twists to the figures in his works. There are number of artists who inspired him such as Rene Magritte, HR Giger...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Collective letter
Located in Aberdeen Dyce, GB
This picture is included in the series of artworks "Pathos of the Bureaucracy". 100x100cm / oil on canvas/ 2017 The picture is ready to hang (edges of a picture is painted) Signed on the front and back. Certificate of authenticity is included. This is my humorous reaction to the bureaucracy. So often we come across unnecessary laws that say that you need to take permission from someone, and you run from one agency to another, and then notice that part of life has passed.. In the picture, the cancer writes a collective letter to the slug...
Category

2010s Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Réalisme Fantastique, L'Etabli, The Work Bench, Mid Century Fantasy Surrealist
Located in Cotignac, FR
French, réalisme fantastique, Surrealist oil on board by Claude Verlinde. Signed and dated bottom left. Presented in plain wood frame with gilt filet. ...
Category

1950s Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Panel, Oil

Prime Cuts
Located in Nottingham, GB
Original Painting, Oil on Board In 2013 the Horse Meat Scandal came to light. This scandal happened in parts of Europe in which foods advertised as containing beef and Pork were found to contain undeclared or improperly declared horse meat. Xue Wang...
Category

2010s Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Oil

Guy Johnson "Rembrandt At My Window" Oil Painting
Located in San Francisco, CA
Guy Johnson: 1927-2019. Well listed American post war surrealist artist. He has had auction results over $10,800. This incredible piece is the finest and m...
Category

1980s Surrealist Paintings

Materials

Oil

Surrealist paintings for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Surrealist 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 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, green and other colors. Many Pop art paintings were created by popular artists on 1stDibs, including Elvic Steele, Rudolf Kosow, Isabel Rock, and Henry David Potwin. 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 paintings, so small editions measuring 2 inches across are also available. Prices for 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 $2,999.

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