Subversive Spaces: Surrealism & Contemporary Art.

About the Show

Subversive Spaces:

Surrealism + Contemporary Art

Tuesday 29 September - Sunday 13 December 2009

This fascinating exhibition looks at the impact of one of the most influential art movements of the 20th century. You will find work by contemporary artists who have found inspiration in the preoccupations of the surrealists, as well as works by artists such as Salvador Dali and Rene Magritte.

Subversive Spaces challenges our perceptions of our environment and explores two surrealist ideas. The first, ‘wandering the city’, reveals the surrealist fascination with discovering hidden social spaces in our city streets and uncovering our subconscious fears and desires. The second, ‘psychic interiors’, investigates notions of disturbance, anxiety and hysteria, and considers the constraining spaces of the home.

The exhibition features painting, sculpture, photography, video and film. Subverting the supposedly safe and comfortable environment of the home, Sarah Lucas’ menacing furniture seems to come alive, while Lucy Gunning’s video ‘Climbing Around My Room’ explores the claustrophobia of domestic spaces. George Shaw depicts in-between spaces of a city in his paintings of playgrounds, and Brassai’s atmospheric photographs reveal a mysterious Paris by night.

Artists in Subversive Spaces: Surrealism and Contemporary Art

Surrealists: Dorothea Tanning, Claude Cahun, Salvador Dalí, Max Ernst, René Magritte, Hans Bellmer, Dora Maar, Jacques-André Boiffard, Brassaï, Giorgio De Chirico, Eugene Atget, Humphrey Spender, Henri Michaux

Contemporary: Lucy Gunning, Anna Gaskell, Sarah Lucas, Douglas Gordon, Markus Schwinwald, Paula Rego, Francesca Woodman, Robert Gober, Mona Hatoum, William Anastasi,Tony Oursler, Ralph Rumney, Katie Holten, Francis Alÿs,