California Surrealism

Surely you’ll find the exact california surrealism you’re seeking on 1stDibs — we’ve got a vast assortment for sale. In our selection of items, you can find contemporary examples as well as a Surrealist version. You’re likely to find the perfect california surrealism among the distinctive items we have available, which includes versions made as long ago as the 20th Century as well as those made as recently as the 21st Century. On 1stDibs, the right california surrealism is waiting for you and the choices span a range of colors that includes black, gray, beige and blue. A california surrealism from Edward Alfano, John Boyce, Frankie Alfonso, Irving Norman and Viktorija Pashuta — each of whom created distinctive versions of this kind of work — is worth considering. Frequently made by artists working in paint, fabric and canvas, these artworks are unique and have attracted attention over the years. A large california surrealism can be an attractive addition to some spaces, while smaller examples are available — approximately spanning 2.5 high and 1.97 wide — and may be better suited to a more modest living area.

The price for a california surrealism in our collection starts at $175 and tops out at $800,000 with the average selling for $2,200.

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.