Surrealist Art
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.
1960s Surrealist Art
Lithograph
1970s Surrealist Art
Lithograph
20th Century Surrealist Art
Archival Paper, Etching
1930s Surrealist Art
Paper
1960s Surrealist Art
Woodcut
1930s Surrealist Art
Etching, Paper
Early 2000s Surrealist Art
Glass
20th Century Surrealist Art
Paper, Screen
1990s Surrealist Art
Canvas, Acrylic
1960s Surrealist Art
Lithograph
1970s Surrealist Art
Lithograph
Mid-20th Century Surrealist Art
Tempera, Board
2010s Surrealist Art
Metal
20th Century Surrealist Art
Lithograph
1970s Surrealist Art
Lithograph
1920s Surrealist Art
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Art
Archival Ink, Rag Paper, Giclée
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Art
Photographic Paper
1960s Surrealist Art
Lithograph, Offset
1960s Surrealist Art
Drypoint
1960s Surrealist Art
Lithograph
2010s Surrealist Art
Acrylic
1970s Surrealist Art
Lithograph
1960s Surrealist Art
Engraving
1970s Surrealist Art
Paper, Aquatint
1990s Surrealist Art
Lithograph
1970s Surrealist Art
Offset, Lithograph
20th Century Surrealist Art
Glitter, Mixed Media
1970s Surrealist Art
Lithograph, Offset
1970s Surrealist Art
Etching
2010s Surrealist Art
Canvas, Oil
1960s Surrealist Art
Lithograph
1950s Surrealist Art
Lithograph
2010s Surrealist Art
Bronze
1960s Surrealist Art
Paper, Lithograph
1970s Surrealist Art
Screen
2010s Surrealist Art
Canvas, Acrylic
1960s Surrealist Art
Woodcut
1960s Surrealist Art
Lithograph
1970s Surrealist Art
Engraving, Intaglio
Artist Comments
The world that I live in is uncertain, unstable, but I have to keep going and find something that can comfort me. This work is talking about the uncomfortable moment, but hopeful future, at the same time. This piece is made by layering Korean mulberry paper on a wooden panel with homemade flour glue. Then I apply a glue base. Next, I draw my sketch, and trace it on the paper. Then I paint three or four layers of a background color using pigments and glue base. Lastly, I paint the animal subject in fine detail, which takes most of time. The painting is on a cradled wood panel with finished edges. It comes ready to hang.
About the Artist
Heejin has been been drawing for as long as she can remember. She grew up with a serious illness and spent much of her childhood in the hospital. Drawing served as an outlet for her, bringing her peace and distraction. Heejin says there was no doubt as she grew up that she wanted to be an artist. She studied oriental painting extensively as a college student in South Korea and then went on to study art therapy in graduate school.
Where Is It? l
Heejin Sutton...
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Art
Mixed Media
1970s Surrealist Art
Etching
1960s Surrealist Art
Etching
1970s Surrealist Art
Lithograph
1970s Surrealist Art
Lithograph
Late 20th Century Surrealist Art
Lithograph
1960s Surrealist Art
Lithograph
Early 2000s Surrealist Art
Paper, Mixed Media
1970s Surrealist Art
Etching
1960s Surrealist Art
Lithograph
1960s Surrealist Art
Engraving
1960s Surrealist Art
Paper, Woodcut
1960s Surrealist Art
Lithograph
Early 2000s Surrealist Art
Copper
1960s Surrealist Art
Woodcut
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Art
Canvas, Oil
1960s Surrealist Art
Engraving
1960s Surrealist Art
Gold, Bronze