In the contemporary art scene, we may be more familiar with landscapes and seascapes, mixed media art, textured paintings and abstracts, but surreal images still have their place in visual arts today after a century since their first manifestation. As a mixture of dream and reality, surrealist art offers the viewers a juxtaposition of unexpected images while challenging their imagination.

Surrealist art is illogical, un-rational and it emerges from the unconscious mind. According to Sigmund Freud, imagination is expressed in dreams. Probably one of the most iconic surrealist paintings is “The Persistence of Memory” by Salvador Dali which is a reflection of surrealism’s irrationality: the melting clocks suggest that time is irrelevant.

Starting from these premises, surrealist art dominated literature, poetry and visual arts during the post World War II period and continued its legacy throughout the decades up until postmodernism and the present day. Surrealist art is described as dreamlike, thought provoking, colourful, philosophical and poetic, reflecting the artist’s aesthetic values and imagery.

Surrealist paintings are not forgotten and their images continue to surprise and challenge the viewer today as much as it did decades ago. If you are thinking of acquiring a surrealist artwork, at Art2Arts we have a number of artists that are influenced by the surrealist aesthetics in colourful, quirky and dreamlike paintings.

Surreal portraits by Alexandra Epameinonda

Untitled by Alexandra Epameinonda
Untitled by Alexandra Epameinonda

Alexandra Epameinonda is a young artist who is attracted by surreal abstraction with portraiture. Her portraits are intentionally deformed, as a direct result of the artist’s vision that each person is beautiful in his/her own way. The message is that we all have to look beyond appearances to appreciate the beauty within each person. She paints in oils and she uses urban colours as a form of escaping reality as we know it.

Realistic features in an imaginary context by Svetoslav Stoyanov

Lost Direction by Svetoslav Stoyanov
Lost Direction by Svetoslav Stoyanov

Svetoslav Stoyanov has been painting for more than fifteen years, having numerous paintings in private collections all over the world. He believes in the freedom of thought and in art without rules. His surrealist paintings are a reflection of world’s beauty and, in the artist’s words, “the magnificence of the human mind”.

Gender crossing with Andrea Rossi

The Moulting by Andrea Rossi
The Moulting by Andrea Rossi

Andrea Rossi’s though provoking and mysterious paintings have been seen in various exhibitions all over the world as well as in art catalogues and publications in Italy, USA, Germany, etc. Highly collectable, his work was on show as part of the Italian Pavilion at the 54th Venice Biennale in 2011.

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Acquiring a surrealist painting for your interior and/or art collection will not only create a central piece in your room but it will generate interesting conversation topics at parties or other family and professional events. A surrealist painting is challenging to look at for the hidden meaning that it might contain. Having a surrealist painting in your home shows intellectual refinement and elegance.

 

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