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Surrealism

A staged performance scene showing a blindfolded figure seated at a table with a candle, crystal ball and open book in a darkened setting.

From Surrealism to Séances: The Art World’s Spiritual Turn

A spate of 2025 shows points to wider institutional interest not only in art that engages mystical or occult frameworks but also in rereading art history through a more spiritually charged lens.
By Elisa Carollo
A framed painting shows hooded figures gathered around a bed-like structure with animal-human characters and symbolic objects, reflecting Carrington’s surreal staged rituals.

Curtains and Cauldrons: The Delicate Politics of Exhibiting Leonora Carrington

It’s thrilling to see women Surrealists finally recognized, but the art world’s enthusiasm sometimes feels performative.
By Guia Cortassa
A portrait of Wendi Norris seated on a wooden table beside a framed Leonora Carrington painting showing pale ghost-like figures around a table.

Wendi Norris Bet On Women Surrealists—Now the Market Has Caught Up

"Depth is what connects people, and the artists I work with have that depth," the dealer tells Observer.
By Elisa Carollo
A Sotheby’s auctioneer raises his gavel as Frida Kahlo’s painting and a $47 million bid appear on a large screen behind him while a seated audience watches.

In Its Best Week Since 2021, Sotheby’s Hit $1.173B With a $54.7M Kahlo Finale

By Elisa Carollo
Auctioneer Aurélie Vandevoorde stands at a Sotheby’s podium mid-sale, gesturing to the audience between two framed paintings—a blue-toned surreal nude with a dove on the left and Amedeo Modigliani’s Elvire en buste on the right—while wearing Salvador Dalí’s Swirling Sea Necklace from the Schlumberger Collection.

The Paris Auctions Cap a Triumphant Art Week With Record Sales, Surrealist Strength and Italian Postwar Gems

By Elisa Carollo
ChatGPT said: A woman stands in her studio wearing a maroon jacket with paintbrushes and tools on a table in front of her, and a large red abstract painting behind her.

Recorded Dreams: Inside Portia Zvavahera’s Hypnotic Visions

By Farah Abdessamad
The exterior of Sotheby’s London features a striking golden Surrealist facade with two giant sculpted eyes framing the entrance.

Karpidas’s Sotheby’s Sale Marks a New Peak for Surrealism and Design

By Elisa Carollo
A wide view of Pauline Karpidas’s London salon, featuring eclectic furniture, art-filled walls, and a bookcase designed by Mattia Bonetti.

Works from Pauline Karpidas’ Singular, Surrealist World Head to Sotheby’s

By Elisa Carollo
Museum patrons view the exhibit "Do You Remember They Can't Cancel The Spring - David Hockney 25" at Louis Vuitton Foundation in Paris.

Realism Returns: The Resurgence of Traditional Art Skills in the Digital Age

By Arline Mann
painting of a woman holding a thread between a cat and a owl

A Spellbinding Retrospective Showcases Artist and Jazz Witch Gertrude Abercrombie’s Singular Vision

By Elisa Carollo
A strange painting of a human-size bird and a woman in a large hat washing a bird in a birdbath

At One Hundred, Surrealism Is Alive and Well in Austin and Beyond

By Nadja Sayej

When the Strange Is Familiar and the Familiar Strange: Surrealism Turns 100

By Farah Abdessamad

Thirty-Five Years After His Death, Salvador Dali Is Still a Phenomenon

By Dian Parker
Painting of a nude oman with a man in her belly and talking with a bird

What to Expect from This Year’s Independent 20th Century Fair

By Elisa Carollo
A person looks at a large framed impressionist painting in a dark room

Here’s What’s Headlining Next Week’s New York Sales at Sotheby’s

By Tiffany Del Valle
A drawing of a child wearing a skull mask on the back of their head riding on the back of an adult who is on all fours

One Fine Show: Works by Sandra Vásquez de la Horra at Denver Art Museum

By Dan Duray
Large-scale surrealist painting depicting figures in scenes with fire, water, earth and air.

Leonora Carrington’s Surrealist Masterpiece Expected to Sell for a Record $18M

By Alexandra Tremayne-Pengelly

Artist Roya Karbakhsh On Capturing Turmoil and Hope

By Yue Li

Charting Remedios Varo’s Mystical Voyage into the Surreal and Sacred

By Ashley Couto
Older couple poses in workshop filled with tools

Lost Works from the Whimsical ‘Les Lalanne’ Artists Head to Auction

By Alexandra Tremayne-Pengelly

A Cynic’s Fairy Tale: On the Met’s “Surrealism Beyond Borders”

By Grace Byron

“Detail from a Mural” at Salon 94 Honors the Influential Artist Ahmed Morsi

By Farah Abdessamad

René Magritte’s ‘La Vengeance’ Is Going Up for Auction for the First Time in June

By Helen Holmes

Miró Thought His ‘Monster’ Sculptures Were His Most Unconventional Works

By David D'Arcy
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