Kurt Seligmann, Sabbath Phantoms (Mythomania), (detail), c. 1945
As the exhibition Surrealism and Magic: Enchanted Modernity opens in Venice, its curator Gražina Subelytė talks to Christie's about the role of the occult in the Surrealists' lives and art - and why their response to global conflict seems as relevant as ever.
It is now almost a century since André Breton penned the first Manifesto of Surrealism, in 1924. In the intervening years, myriad books have been written about the movement, and myriad exhibitions staged.
However, according to the co-curator of a new show at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, in Venice, one key aspect of Surrealism has long been overlooked. Namely, the interest of so many of its artists in magic and the occult - and how their imagery was influenced as a result.
Surrealism and Magic: Enchanted Modernity features 60 works, with more than three-quarters on loan from museums and private collections worldwide, and a core of pictures from the rich Surrealist holdings of the Peggy Guggenheim Collection itself.
Here, we speak to the exhibition's co-curator, Gražina Subelytė, about witchcraft, Tarot cards and a truly momentous reunion.
MAR 2022
