Surreal Art at its best

Surreal Art isn’t as freaky as you think.

 

Surreal is a term that is bandied around for often times terrifying images. However, if you take a step back it is not rows of skulls popping out of you, it is more than images of death and dark humour as you will see boundaries of imagination bend into new worlds.  Dream meets reality; it is up to you whether that is dark or light.

 

Greats of the surrealist movements such as Salvador Dali and Max Ernst erupted into a world bound with heavy social constraints and a war brewing in the shadow of WW1.  They worked to disrupt the boundaries of dream and reality, to forget the notions of how art should be perceived and what it should look like. The surrealist movement shed the dust of the art world with Dali’s infamous melting clock and Ernst’s obscure methods and founding of frottage combined with collage.

Left to right: The Persistence of Memory by Dali and The Entire City by Ernst

They weren’t horrific scenes of hell as the connotations of the word surreal carries, but they were often of hope, as they looked for new methods to break out from the war drawn years, to live differently that went beyond the art world into everyday life.

Surreal art is a niche of creativity to this day. Specialising in this breaking of rules, the anti gallery that is Curious Duke represents a roster of artists that delve into dream realities.

Otto D’Ambra https://curiousdukegallery.com/artists/38-otto-d-ambra

D’Ambra refuses to follow the crowd, even in his creations. His shoal of fish from Dangerous Animal to Pain, question the risk of freethinking and imagination, whilst in it portraying this idea in detailed splendour.  These dry point etchings will make you take a second look….

 

From left to right clockwise:

Dangerous Animal- Dry point etching, 28x39cm, £182. 

Imagination and Courage- Dry point etching of 20, 24x30xm, £110.

Business- Dry point etching of 30, 28x42cm, £138. 

Looking for the Key- Dry point etching of 20, 24x30xm, £110. 

Pain- Dry point etching of 30, 39x28cm, £182. 

 

Vikram Kushwah

Vogue photographer Kushwah blends ethereal beauty with magical dreams and taxidermy. The combination of effects in both black and white and colour photography haze into portals to another world.

 

From left to right:

Deer in the Bathroom- Medium format photography of 8, 60x50cm, £495 

Snow and the Owl in the bath- Medium format photography of 8, 60x50cm, £495 

The Owl and the Radio- Medium format photography of 8, 60x50cm, £495 

 

Novemto Komo

Surreal art doesn’t always stand alone as an influence.  Novemto Komo combines urban art with surreality to great effect. Do his hybrids bark or talk? Surreal and street art hover over the edge of Avant-garde providing insightful and original art every time.

 

From left to right:

Take your Step- Acrylic and spray paint on canvas, 76x76cm, £660. 

Curiosity – Limited edition Giclée print, 45x62cm, £99. 

Rise and Shine- Acrylic and spray-paint on wooden panel, 40x30cm, £242. 

 

Where will we go next?

 

Written by Curious Duke Gallery blogger Sinéad Loftus.

Lover of all art and fluffy cats.