The most surrealist plan
‘Duchamp, Magritte, Dalí: Revolutionary Artists from the 20th century’ is the new exhibition held at a unique art gallery in Madrid: Gaviria Palace. The exhibition has a total of 180 works, loaned by the Museum of Israel, by these Surrealist artists who, in general, faithfully stuck to Figurativism, with levels of skill never reached since. Oscar Tusquets, an architect who was a friend of Dalí, was the person in charge of organising the spaces in this exhibition and has followed a criteria based on themes rather than chronology in order to facilitate the understanding of the art movements.
The exhibition pivots around these three names, of which Duchamp would be a sui generis Surrealist, perhaps more associated to Dadaism, famous for his revolutionary urinal ‘The Fountain’ from 1917, a piece of art particularly valuable for the critical debate generated by its exhibition. Dalí and Magritte share most of the exhibition’s weight, with preferential space dedicated to them, but visitors can also enjoy other masters of Surrealism such as Ernst, Tanguy, Man Ray, Calder, Picabia, Schwitters and Höch.
Located in the central Calle del Arenal, 9, Gaviria Palace deserves a visit even if it is just to see its charming appearance. For information on tickets and opening times, call (+34) 915 266 072.
And since we had promised a Surrealist plan, what we are suggesting is to visit this exhibition and combine it with a subsequent tour of the neighbouring Monastery of the Descalzas Reales. With general admission costing just 6 euros, the monastery is a National Heritage monument built in 1559 by order of Joanna of Austria, sister of Philip II and mother of the future Portuguese king Sebastian I. The tour takes 60 minutes and it is organised for groups of 15-20 people, a deep immersion into the religious convent life in one of Madrid’s oldest and most valuable buildings. Dalí would be proud of this plan.
Categories: Madrid Cultura
