DALI'S 'THE PERSISTENCE OF MEMORY' TO JOIN DALI EXHIBITION

ON 16.NOVEMBER SALVADOR DALI'S ICONIC SURREALIST PAINTING 'THE PERSISTENCE OF MEMORY' FROM THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART, NEW YORK, WILL JOIN THE HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL EXHIBITION 'SALVADOR DALI: THE LATE WORK'. THE EXHIBITION BRINGS TOGETHER MANY WORKS FROM DALI'S LATER CAREER AS WELL AS SEVERAL WORKS OF ART NOT SEEN IN THE UNITED STATES SINCE THE 1950s. THE EXHIBITION WILL BE ON VIEW THROUGH 9.JANUARY.2011. 'THE PERSISTENCE OF MEMORY' REPRESENTS DALI IN WAYS FEW PAINTINGS HAVE FOR OTHER ARTISTS' SAID EXHIBITION CURATOR AND DALI SCHOLAR ELLIOTT KING. 'IT'S NO EXAGGERATION THAT THIS '10 X 14 INCHES OF DYNAMITE' IS THE IMAGE THAT MADE HIM A CELEBRITY, SETTING THE STAGE FOR ALL THE ART AND ANTICS THAT FOLLOWED.' PAINTED IN 1931, 'THE PERSISTENCE OF MEMORY' IS WIDELY RECOGNIZED AS ONE OF SALVADOR DALI'S MOST FAMOUS PAINTINGS. ACCORDING TO HIS AUTOBIOGRAPHY 'THE SECRET LIFE OF SALVADOR DALI', THE PAINTING WAS DONE ONE EVENING AFTER DINNER WHILE HIS WIFE GALA WAS OUT. DALI WAS LOOKING AT A LANDSCAPE THAT HE HAD PAINTED, TRYING TO THINK OF SOMETHING MEMORABLE AND FANTASTIC TO INSERT INTO THE LANDSCAPE. NEARBY WAS A PIECE OF CAMEMBERT CHEESE THAT HAD BEGUN TO MELT. AS HE LOOKED AT THE MELTING CHEESE, HE GOT THE IDES TO PAINT A SOFT CLOCK. WHEN GALA CAME HOME DALI PUT HIS HANDS OVER HERS EYES, REVEALED THE PAINTING AND ASKED WHAT SHE THOUGHT. HER RESPONSE WAS THAT ONCE SOMEONE HAD SEEN IT, THEY WOULD NEVER FORGET IT, HENCE THE TITLE 'THE PERSISTENCE OF MEMORY.' 'SALVADOR DALI: THE LATE WORK', AT THE HIGH MUSEUM OF ATLANTA, IS THE FIRST EXHIBITION TO FOCUS SPECIFICALLY ON DALI'S ART AFTER 1940. THE EXHIBITION FEATURES 115 WORKS, INCLUDING 40 PAINTINGS AND A RELATED GROUP OF DRAWINGS, PRINTS AND OTHER DALI EPHEMERA. WHILE DALI IS BEST KNOW AS A LEADING MEMBER OF THE SURREALIST MOVEMENT OF THE LATE 1930s, 'SALVADOR DALI: THE LATE WORK' REASSESSES HIS CAREER FROM 1940 TO HIS DEATH IN 1989. DALI'S LATE WORK, WHICH MAKES UP MORE THAN HALF OF HIS TOTAL ARTISTIC OUTPUT, DREW INSPIRATION SIMULTANEOUSLY FROM THE OLD MASTERS AND TEH CONTEMPORARY WORLD, RESULTING IN WORKS THAT WERE MARKEDLY OUT OF STEP WITH THE PREVAILING STYLES OF THEIR DAY, BUT TODAY APPEAR STRIKINGLY CONTEMPORARY.

DALI STATUE STOLEN FROM EXHIBITION IN BELGIUM

THE SCULPTURE 'WOMAN WITH DRAWERS' BY SALVADOR DALI, VALUED AT OVER $90,000, WAS STOLEN FROM AN EXHIBITION HALL IN BRUGES (NW BELGIUM), THE BELGIAN PRESS REPORTED TODAY. A SECURITY CAMERA FILMED HOW THE THIEVES HID THE STATUE INA BAG AND LEFT THE SHOW SHORTLY AFTER NOON WEDNESDAY, IMAGES THAT ARE BEING ANALYZED BY POLICE, ACCORDING TO SEVERAL NEWSPAPERS. THE THEFT HAS NOT BEEN CONFIRMED YET BY THE COMPANY HOSTING THE EXHIBITION, INTERART. THE WORK, A BRONZE OF ABOUT 50 CENTIMETERS WIDE AND 30 WIDE TALL, WEIGHS ABOUT TEN KILOS. INTERART HAS BEEN ORGANIZING SUCCESSFUL EXHIBITIONS WITH WORK OF THE SPANISH SURREALIST PAINTER SALVADOR DALI SINCE 1991. INTERART EXHIBITED A LARGE COLLECTION OF DALI'S PAINTINGS, WATERCOLOURS, DRAWINGS AND OBJECTS AT THE BRUGES ARTS CENTER OUD SINT-JAN IN 1997. AFTER YEARS OF COLLECTING AND RESEARCH, INTERART OPENED THE PERMANENT MUSEUM-GALLERY XPO: SALVADOR DALI, MARQUIS DE PUBOL IN THE BELFRY OF BRUGES. THE OUTSTANDING COLLECTION OF WATERCOLOURS, DRAWINGS, SCULPTURES AND FAMOUS WORKS OF GRAPHIC ART ARE ON DISPLAY IN A UNIQUE AND EXCLUSIVE BUILDING, WHICH HAS BEEN DECORATED BY BARRON SAINT MYTHELFINGER, THE 360° ARTIST DESIGNER OF GRAND OPERA DECOR. HE TRANSFERRED THE MEDIEVAL HALL INTO A DALINIAN SHOWROOM, A WORK OF ART ON ITSELF. ITS COLOURS ARE GOLD, MOTHER OF PEARL AND SHOCKING PINK.

HIGH MUSEUM OF ART PRESENTS 'SALVADOR DALI: THE LATE WORK'

A NEW EXHIBITION OPENING EXCLUSIVELY IN ATLANTA EXPLORES ARTIST SALVADOR DALI'S LATE WORKS, INCLUDING SEVERAL MAJOR PIECES THAT HAVEN'T BEEN SEEN IN THE US IN HALF A CENTURY. DALI IS BEST KNOWN AS A SURREALIST, HIS MELTING WATCHES AN ICONIC IMAGE OF THAT MOVEMENT. BUT AFTER ABOUT 10 YEARS, HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH THE GROUP GREW STRAINED IN THE LATE 1930s FOR A VARIETY OF REASONS BOTH ARTISTIC AND POLITICAL. 'SALVADOR DALI: THE LATE WORK', OPENING AT THE HIGH MUSEUM OF ART IN ATLANTA ON SUNDAY, FOCUSES OF THAT PERIOD FROM 1940 TO 1983. THE EXHIBIT OPENS WITH PHOTOS BY AMERICAN PHOTOGRAPHER PHILIPPE HALSMAN OF THE MUSTACHIOED ARTIST IN CRAZY POSES SHOWCASING WHAT IS DESCRIBED AS DALI'S ';WACKY SHOWMAN' SIDE. IT THEN MOVES ONTO SOME EARLIER WORKS TO GIVE VISITORS SOME BACKGROUND. FROM THERE, IT PROGRESSES TO DALI'S EXPLORATION OF 'NUCLEAR MYSTICISM', WHICH REFLECTS TWO RECURRING INFLUENCES ON DALI'S LATE WORK, HIS RETURN TO THE CATHOLIC CHURCH AND NUCLEAR PHYSICS. A PERFECT EXAMPLE OF THIS CONCEPT ID 'MADONNA OF PORT-LLIGAT', WHICH SHOWS THE MADONNA AND CHILD FRAGMENTED AND BREAKING INTO PARTICLES. THE LARGE-SCALE PAINTING IS ON LOAN FROM A MUSEUM IN JAPAN AND HASN'T BEEN SEEN IN THE US SINCE 1951. ONE OF THE MOST FAMOUS IMAGES IN THE EXHIBITION IS 'CHRIST OF ST JOHN OF THE CROSS', STUNNING IN PART FOR ITS VANTAGE POINT, LOOKING DOWN FROM ABOVE ON THE CRUCIFIED CHRIST. ON AN ADJACENT WALL IS A PHOTO OF DALI WITH BOBBY KENNEDY IN FRONT OF THE PAINTING IN 1965, THE LAST TIME THE PAINTING WAS IN THE US FROM ITS HOME IN SCOTLAND. THE FINAL SECTION OF THE EXHIBITION CENTERS ON WHAT IS CALLED DALI'S POP ART, WHICH CAME WELL BEFORE SIMILAR COMMERCIAL EFFORTS BY ARTISTS LIKE ANDY WARHOL AND JEFF KOONS. THERE ARE BROOCHES SO GAUDY THEY LOOK LIKE COSTUME JEWELRY; A CHESS SET IN WHICH ALL THE PIECES ARE MOLDS OF HIS FINGERS, EXCEPT THE ROOKS WHICH ARE COPIES OF THE SALT SHAKERS FROM THE ST REGIS HOTEL; AND PORTRAITS OF AMERICAN HIGH SOCIETY FIGURES. THE LAST GALLERY HOUSE A HOLOGRAM OF ROCK STAR ALICE COOPER AND THE SISTINE MADONNA PAINTING FROM 1958 THAT SUPERIMPOSES THE IMAGE OF THE VIRGIN AND CHILD OVER A PHOTOGRAPH OF THE POPE'S EAR RENDERED IN A BENDAY DOT PATTERN, PRECEDING SIMILAR POP ART WORKS. A WALL OF TWO DOZEN MAGAZINE COVERS, JUST A FRACTION OF THE MANY HE APPEARED ON OVER THE YEARS, DEMONSTRATES HIS STATUS AS A TRUE CELEBRITY ARTIST.
FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT www.high.org

DALI SCULPTURE DONATED TO ANDORRA

THE SALVADOR DALI SCULPTURE, THE 'NOBILITY OF TIME' HAS BEEN PLACED IN ANDORA'S CAPITAL CITY, IN THE PIAZZA ROTONDA ANDORRA LA VELLA. IT WAS DONATED TO THE ANDORRAN GOVERNMENT BY ENRIC SABATER, WHO WAS DALI'S AGENT, COLLABORATOR AND CONFIDENT BETWEEN 1968 AND 1982. THE STUNNING FIVE METER HIGH SCULPTURE HAS BEEN PLACED IN THE CITY'S MOST PRESTIGIOUS AND HISTORIC SQUARE, IN THE TOWNS OLDEST QUARTER WHICH DATES FROM THE 12th CENTURY. THE BRONZE SCULPTURE IS ONE OF THE MELTED WATCH SERIES OF SCULPTURES WHICH WAS CREATED BY DALI TO SYMBOLIZE THE PASSAGE OF TIME. THE SOFT MELTING WATCH IS DRAPED AROUND A TREE TRUNK; ATOP THE WATCH FACE IS A CROWN, SYMBOLIZING TIME'S MASTER OVER HUMANITY. BANIAMINO LEVI, PRESIDENT OF THE STRATTON FOUNDATION AND CURATOR OF OVER EIGHT DALI EXHIBITIONS WORLDWIDE, HAS EXPRESSED HIS APPROVAL OF THE DONATION AND IS DELIGHTED THAT THE SCULPTURE IS NOW THE MAIN ARTISTIC ATTRACTION IN ANDORRA LA VELLA.

DELTA PAYS TRIBUTE TO DALI EXHIBITION AT THE HIGH

IN CELEBRATION OF THE HIGH'S NEW EXHIBITION, 'DALI: THE LATE WORK', DELTA HAS DECKED OUT A 757 PLANE WITH A SALVADOR DALI-ESQUE MUSTACHE. THE PLANE, WHICH WENT INTO SERVICE YESTERDAY, WILL FLY DOMESTICALLY. THE HIGH INVITES TRAVELERS WHO SPOT OR RIDE ON THE PLANE TO SHARE THEIR EXPERIENCE ON THE MUSEUM'S FACEBOOK PAGE AND ON TWITTER. DELTA AIR LINES IS THE OFFICIAL AIRLINE OF THE HIGH MUSEUM OF ART, ATLANTA. 'DALI: THE LATE WORK', THE FIRST MAJOR EXHIBITION TO REEVALUATE THE LATE HALF OF SALVADOR DALI'S CAREER, WILL BE PRESENTED EXCLUSIVELY AT THE HIGH. BEGINNING IN THE LATE 1930s, DALI WENT THROUGH A RADICAL CHANGE IN WHICH HE EMBRACED CATHOLICISM, DEVELOPED THE CONCEPT OF NUCLEAR MYSTICISM AND, IN EFFECT, REINVENTED HIMSELF AS AN ARTIST. COMPRISING MORE THAN 115 WORKS, INCLUDING PAINTINGS, DRAWINGS, PRINTS AND OTHER DALI EPHEMERA, THE EXHIBITION WILL ALSO EXPLORE THE ARTIST'S ENDURING FASCINATION WITH SCIENCE, OPTICAL EFFECTS AND ILLUSIONISM AS WELL AS HIS CONNECTIONS TO SUCH ARTISTS OF THE 1960s AND 1970s AS ANDY WARHOL, ROY LICHTENSTEIN AND WILLEM DE KOONING. AMONG THE HIGHLIGHTS OF THE EXHIBITION WILL BE SEVERAL WORKS THAT HAVE NOT BEEN SEEN IN THE US IN 50 YEARS, INCLUDING THE MONUMENTAL 'CHRIST OF ST JOHN OF THE CROSS', WHICH WAS VOTED SCOTLAND'S FAVORITE PAINTING IN 2007, AND 'SANTAIGO EL GRANDE', WHICH HAS NOT LEFT NEW BRUNSWICK, CANADA, SINCE 1959. DESIGNED AS AN ALTARPIECE, THIS PAINTING INCLUDES DALI'S VISION OF THE CRUCIFIXION, AN HOMAGE TO SAINT JAMES (THE PATRON SAINT OF SPAIN) AND AN ATOMIC EXPLOSION. THE EXHIBITION WILL ALSO FEATURE 'ASSUMPTA CORPUSCULARIA LAPISLAZULINA' FROM A PRIVATE COLLECTION IN SPAIN, WHICH HAS NOT BEEN SEEN PUBLICLY SINCE 1959.

MUSEUM BOIJMANS VAN BEUNINGEN TO PRESENT RESTORATION

THIS SUMMER THE MUSEUM BOIJMANS VAN BEUNINGEN, ROTTERDAM, IS LETTING EVERYONE A PROCESS THAT IS USUALLY CARRIED OUT BEHIND CLOSED DOORS. FROM MID-JUNE THE ENORMOUS PAINTING 'LANDSCAPE WITH A GIRL SKIPPING ROPE' BY THE SURREALIST PAINTER SALVADOR DALI WILL UNDERGO A MIRACULOUS RESTORATION. YOU CAN FOLLOW THE SILENT SPECTACLE FOR TWO MONTHS IN THE SERRA GALLERY. THE PAINTING AND SIX OTHER DALIS FROM THE MUSEUM COLLECTION WILL THEN GO ON SHOW IN MILAN. THE MUSEUM BOIJMANS VAN BEUNINGEN HAS A UNIQUE COLLECTION OF SURREALIST PAINTINGS BY ARTISTS SUCH AS RENE MARGRITTE, MAX ERNST AND SALVADOR DALI. THE PAINTING NOW BEING RESTORED COMES FROM THE COLLECTION OF EDWARD JAMES, AN IMPORTANT ENGLISH CLIENT OF DALI'S. IN 1936 HE COMMISSIONED HIM TO MAKE THE WORK FOR HIS HOUSE IN LONDON. THE PAINTING WAS DAMAGED DURING AN AIR RAID IN THE SECOND WORLD WAR. THE CENTER PANEL WAS THEN STORED ELSEWHERE AND THE SIDE PANELS WERE TRANSFERRED TO THE TATE GALLERY. THE PANELS WERE REUNITED AND RESTORED IN THE 1960s AND THEN FOUND THEIR WAY TO THE MUSEUM BOIJMANS VAN BEUNINGEN AS A LONG-TERM LOAN IN 1972. THE MUSEUM PURCHASED THE PAINTING IN 1977. DURING THE PUBLIC RESTORATION IN THE MUSEUM THE PAINTING WILL HANG ON A TEMPORARY WALL, SET OBLIQUELY IN THE SPACE. VISITORS WILL BE ABLE TO WATCH THE PROCESS AT CLOSE QUARTERS FROM BEHIND A BARRIER SO AS NOT TO DISTURB THE RESTORERS.
FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT www.boijmans.nl/nl

'DALI IN THE THIRD DIMENSION'

'DALI IN THE THIRD DIMENSION' IS A NEWLY PUBLISHED STUDY OF THREE DIMENSIONAL ARTWORKS BY SALVADOR DALI. THE IMPRESSIVE HARDBACK BOOK, 334 PAGES, CONTAINS OVER 250 STUNNING COLOUR PHOTOGRAPHS DETAILING MORE THAN 150 ARTWORKS. THE READER IS INVITED TO ADMIRE THE IMPRESSIVE COLLECTION OF SCULPTURE AND TO DISCOVER THE HISTORY BEHIND THEIR CREATION. FROM THE DELICATE SHIMMERING BEAUTY OF THE SURREALIST GLASS DAUM SCULPTURE, TO A MAJESTIC AWE INSPIRING MONUMENTAL BRONZE SCULPTURE, THE BOOK IS AT ONCE AN INTELLECTUAL MEDITATION AND AN EXCITING ADDITION TO ANY DALI AFICIONADOS LIBRARY. 'DALI IN THE THIRD DIMENSION' DETAILS THE VAST COLLECTION AMASSED BY MR LEVI, PRESIDENT OF THE STRATTON FOUNDATION, WHO HAS DEDICATED OVER 40 YEARS OF HIS LIFE IN RESEARCHING, IDENTIFYING AND COLLECTING DALI ARTWORKS. THE BOOK IS AT ONCE THE STORY OF AN INCREDIBLE COLLECTION AND HISTORICAL TESTIMONY OF ONE MAN'S ADMIRATION AND DEDICATION. INCLUDING TEXT BY DALI WORLD EXPERTS ROBERTS DESCHARNES, ALBERT FIELD AND A REYNOLDS MORSE, THE BOOK ENTHRALLS READERS AND INVITES THEM TO LEARN MORE ABOUT DALI'S THIRD DIMENSIONAL ARTWORKS; THE COLLECTION HAS ALREADY BEEN SEEN BY MORE THAN TEN MILLION PEOPLE AROUND THE WORLD AND EXHIBITED IN OVER EIGHTY PRESTIGIOUS MUSEUMS AND LOCATIONS. THE BOOK SERVES TO PROMOTE AWARENESS OF A MAJOR ASPECT OF DALI'S GENIUS AND SERVES AS AN EXCELLENT INTRODUCTION TO THE SURREALIST MIND OF THE CATALAN GENIUS.

THE HIGH MUSEUM TO PRESENT 'SALVADOR DALI: THE LATE WORK'

THE FIRST MAJOR EXHIBITION TO REEVALUATE THE LAST HALF OF SALVADOR DALI'S CAREER WILL BE PRESENTED EXCLUSIVELY AT THE HIGH MUSEUM, ATLANTA, THIS AUGUST. BEGINNING IN THE LATE 1930s, DALI WENT THROUGH A RADICAL CHANGE IN WHICH HE EMBRACED CATHOLICISM, DEVELOPED THE CONCEPT OF NUCLEAR MYSTICISM AND, IN EFFECT, REINVENTED HIMSELF AS AN ARTIST. COMPRISING MORE THAN 40 PAINTINGS AND A RELATED GROUP OF DRAWINGS, PRINTS AND OTHER DALI EPHEMERA, 'SALVADOR DALI: THE LATE WORK' WILL ALSO EXPLORE THE ARTIST'S ENDURING FASCINATION WITH SCIENCE, OPTICAL EFFECTS AND ILLUSIONISM AS WELL AS HIS CONNECTIONS TO SUCH ARTISTS OF THE LATE 1960s AND 1970s AS ANDY WARHOL, ROY LICHTENSTEIN AND WILLEM DE KOONING. AMONG THE HIGHLIGHTS OF THE EXHIBITION WILL BE SEVERAL WORKS THAT HAVE NOT BEEN SEEN IN THE US IN 50 YEARS, INCLUDING THE MONUMENTAL 'CHRIST OF ST JOHN OF THE CROSS' WHICH WAS VOTED SCOTLAND'S FAVORITE PAINTING IN 2007, AND 'SANTIAGO EL GRANDE', WHICH HAS NOT LEFT NEW BRUNSWICK, CANADA, SINCE 1959. DESIGNED AS AN ALTARPIECE, THE PAINTING INCLUDES DALI'S VISION OF THE CRUCIFIXION, AN HOMAGE TO SAINT JAMES (PATRON SAINT OF SPAIN) AND AN ATOMIC EXPLOSION. THE EXHIBITION WILL ALSO FEATURE 'ASSUMPTA CORPUSCALARIA LAPISLAZULINA', FROM A PRIVATE COLLECTION IN SPAIN, WHICH HAS NOT BEEN SEEN PUBLICLY SINCE 1959. THE HIGH WILL BE THE SOLE VENUE FOR THE EXHIBITION, WHERE IT WILL BE ON VIEW FROM 7.AUGUST.2010 THROUGH 9.JANUARY.2011.
FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT www.high.org

DALI UNIVERSE MOVES OUT OF ITS LOCATION

DALI UNIVERSE, ONE OF THE WORLD'S FOREMOST COLLECTIONS OF DALI, IS MOVING FROM COUNTY HALL ON LONDON'S SOUTH BANK TO A NEW LOCATION IN LONDON. OVER 500 DALI ARTWORKS WHICH WERE EXHIBITED TO GREAT ACCLAIM OVER A TEN YEAR PERIOD, ARE MOVING TO A NEW HOME WHICH IS BETTER SITUATED TO PLEASE THE MUSEUM GOING PUBLIC. THEIR RECENT PRESS RELEASE SAID: WE ARE SORRY FOR AN INCONVENIENCE CAUSED AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO ANNOUNCING A NEW SPACE AND A NEW EXHIBITION WHICH WILL HAVE MANY OF THE OLD FAVORITES AS WELL AS A NEW DALI COLLECTION OF ORIGINAL DRAWINGS AND PAINTINGS ON LOAN FROM A SECRET SPANISH ADMIRER. IN THE MEANTIME, ART LOVERS WHO WISH TO SEE ONE OF EUROPE'S LARGEST COLLECTIONS OF DALI CAN VISIT THE ESPACE DALI EXHIBITION IN MONTMARTES, PARIS AND www.daliparis.com.'

SALVADOR DALI PAINTING MADE IN US ON LOAN TO DALI FOUNDATION

THE FUNDACIO GALA-SALVADOR DALI PRESENTED THE LOAN OF THE WORK 'DREAM CAUSED BY THE FLIGHT OF A BEE AROUND A POMEGRANATE ONE MINUTE BEFORE AWAKENING (1944), FROM THE THYSSEN-BORNEMISZA MUSEUM, MADRID. THE OIL PAINTING WILL BE EXHIBITED AT THE DRAWINGS ROOM, NUMBER 6, OF THE DALI THEATRE-MUSEUM IN FIGUERES FROM 9.FEBRUARY UNTIL 2.MAY.2010. THE PAINTING DEPICTS A WOMAN, DALI'S WIFE GALA, SLEEPING WHILE SUNBATHING NAKED DURING A CALM DAY ON ROCKS FLOATING OVER A SEA, POSSIBLY AT PORT LLIGAT. AN ELEPHANT WITH INCREDIBLY LONG, EXTREMELY THIN LEGS WALKS ACROSS THE SEA'S HORIZON WHILE CARRYING AN OBELISK. NEAR THE WOMAN FLOAT TWO DROPS OF WATER AND A SMALL POMEGRANATE. FROM A LARGER POMEGRANATE COMES A FISH THAT SPEWS A TIGER FROM WHICH COMES ANOTHER TIGER, WHILE IN FRONT OF THAT SECOND TIGER A RIFLE'S BAYONET TOUCHES (OR NEARLY TOUCHES) THE WOMAN'S RIGHT ARM. IT WAS PAINTED WHILE DALI AND HIS WIFE GALA WERE LIVING IN AMERICA. THE BAYONET, AS A SYMBOL OF THE STINGING BEE, MAY THUS REPRESENT THE WOMAN'S ABRUPT AWAKENING FROM HER OTHERWISE PEACEFUL DREAM. THIS IS AN EXAMPLE OF SIGMUND FREUD'S INFLUENCE ON SURREALIST ART AND DALI'S ATTEMPTS TO EXPLORE THE WORLD OF DREAMS IN A DREAM-SCAPE. IT HAS ALSO BEEN SUGGESTED THAT THE PAINTING IS 'A SURREALIST INTERPRETATION OF THE THEORY OF EVOLUTION'. IN 1962, DALI SAID HIS PAINTING WAS INTENDED 'TO EXPRESS FOR THE FIRST TIME IN IMAGES FREUD'S DISCOVERY OF THE TYPICAL DREAM WITH A LENGTHY NARRATIVE, THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE INSTANTANEOUSNESS OF A CHANCE EVENT WHICH CAUSES THE SLEEPER WAKE UP. THUS, AS A BAR MIGHT FALL ON THE NECK OF A SLEEPING PERSON, CAUSING THEM TO WAKE UP AND FOR A LONG DREAM TO END WITH THE GUILLOTINE BLADE FALLING ON THEM, THE NOISE OF THE BEE HERE PROVOKES THE SENSATION OF THE STING WHICH WILL AWAKEN GALA.'

SALVADOR DALI ORIGINALS DONATED TO HOUSTON SALVATION ARMY

AN ANONYMOUS DONOR HAS GIVEN SEVERAL WORKS BY SPANISH ARTIST SALVADOR DALI TO THE SALVATION ARMY IN HOUSTON, ABC NEWS REPORTED TODAY. THE SPANISH ARTIST'S WORKS ARE BEING EXHIBITED AT THE SALVATION ARMY WHERE THEY WERE DONATED ALONG WITH $1 ITEMS OF USED CLOTHES AND OTHER USED AND SLIGHTLY USED GOODS. THE DALI WORKS RANGE FROM ETCHINGS TO PAINTINGS, AS WELL AS A RARE BRONZE CRUCIFIX, WHICH HAVE ALL BEEN AUTHENTICATED BY A CALIFORNIA ART GALLERY. THE STORE'S MANAGERS SAID THAT THE DALI WORKS BELONGED TO AN AFFLUENT HOUSTON WOMAN, AND THEY INVITED ANYONE WITH DOUBTS ABOUT THE AUTHENTICITY OF THE WORKS INSPECT THEM IN PERSON. THE SALVATION ARMY PLANS TO SELL THE WORKS BY THE END OF THE MONTH AND HAS STARTED TAKING BUDS. SO FAR THE BIDS HAVE REACHED $5,000 FOR A DON QUIXOTE LITHOGRAPH AND THE CRUCIFIX, WHILE OFFERS FOR THE REST OF THE ARTWORKS HAVE REACHED $3,000. THIS IS THE SECOND TIME THAT DALI WORKS HAVE BEEN DONATED TO THE SALVATION ARMY. IN 2004, SEVERAL SPANISH ARTIST'S WORKS WERE DONATED TO THE ORGANIZATION AND AN INTERNET AUCTION WAS CONDUCTED. SALVATION ARMY OFFICIALS ARE ASKING THAT ALL PROSPECTIVE BIDDERS COME INTO THE STORE IN PERSON TO CUT OUT INTERNET AUCTION FIRMS THAT WOULD OTHERWISE TAKE A LARGE CHUNK OF THE SALE PROCEEDS.

DALI THEATRE AND MUSEUM PRESENTS RECENT ACQUISITION 'GALA'

THE DALI THEATRE AND MUSEUM, FIGUERES, SPAIN, PRESENTED TO THE PUBLIC ITS LATEST ACQUISITION MADE POSSIBLE BY THE DALI FOUNDATION. THE SMALL OIL ENTITLED 'GALA' COULD BE THE VERY FIRST PORTRAIT OF HIS WIFE GALA ELUARD. WHEN, IN 1929, DALI MET GALA, A STRONG IMPRESSION OF LOVE WAS PROVOKED, SO INTENSE THAT FROM THAT POINT ON HE WOULD NEVER BE SEPARATED FROM HER, UNTIL HER DEATH IN JUNE OF 1982. WIFE AND MUSE TO DALI, HER REAL NAME WAS ELENA IVANOVNA DIAKONOVA, SHE WAS A MYSTERIOUS WOMAN, TRANSGRESSIVE, WITH GREAT INTUITION, WHO RECOGNIZED ARTISTIC AND CREATIVE GENIUS WHEREVER SHE SAW IT AND THROUGHOUT HER LIFE EVEN BEFORE MEETING DALI, SHE WAS RELATED TO NUMEROUS INTELLECTUALS AND ARTISTS.
THE PAINTING WAS MADE STARTING FROM A PHOTOGRAPHIC PORTRAIT OF GALA; A DETAILED PORTRAIT, WITH COLLAGE, FULL OF DETAILS, STARTING FROM THE SMOKE FROM A CIGARETTE, WHERE HE INTEGRATES THE ICONOGRAPHY OF THE MOMENT, WHICH IS REPEATED OFTEN THOUGH-OUT HIS PAINTINGS MADE BETWEEN 1929 AND 1931: THE LOBSTER, THE BIRD, THE FIGURE OF THE GREAT MASTURBATOR, THE SHELLS, THE SQUIRREL, THE ANTS . . . ALL ACCOMPANYING GALA, WITH LONG HAIR; 'GALA THE IDEAL WOMAN'. ONE CAN READ, IN THE LOWER CENTRAL PART OF THE ARTWORK: 'POUR LOLIVETA SLAVADOR DALI 1931', OLIVETA, WAS ONE OF THE PET NAMES WITH WHICH DALI CALLED HIS MUSE. THE SMALL JEWEL LIKE OIL PAINTING CAN BE VIEW STARTING TODAY IN A MONTAGE DESIGNED SPECIALLY FOR THE HISTORIC EXHIBITION BY PEP CANALETA.

SHANGHAI ART MUSEUM PRESENTS "SALVADOR DALI IN SHANGHAI"

THE STRATTON FOUNDATION AND THE DALI UNIVERSE PRESENT AN EXCITING HISTORIC EXHIBITION DEDICATED TO THE RENOWNED ARTIST AND MASTER OF SURREALISM, SALVADOR DALI. THE EXHIBITION "SALVADOR DALI IN SHANGHAI" IS A RARE COLLECTION OF ARTWORKS THAT WILL DELIGHT AND SURPRISE. OPENING 31.JULY AND ON VIEW TILL 14.AUGUST AT THE SHANGHAI ART MUSEUM. THE EXHIBITION "SALVADOR DALI IN SHANGHAI" COMMEMORATES THE 20th ANNIVERSARY OF DALI'S DEATH AND DISPLAYS THE ARTIST IN ALL HIS GLORY. CURATOR OF THE EXHIBITION AND PRESIDENT OF THE STRATTON FOUNDATION, BENJAMIN LEVI IS AN AVID COLLECTOR AND EXPERT OF DALI'S WORK. A PERSONAL FRIEND OF THE ARTIST, LEVI HAS ASSEMBLED THE COLLECTION OVER THE PAST 40 YEARS, CAREFULLY SELECTING EACH ARTWORK IN ORDER TO BRING VARIOUS ASPECTS OF DALI'S LIFEWORK TO THE PUBLIC EYE. AS AN ARTIST, DALI NEEDS NO INTRODUCTION, HE WILL ALWAYS AROUSE INTEREST, SPECULATION, DISCUSSION AND MOST OF ALL, PLEASURE. AN EXHIBITION OF EPIC PROPORTIONS, THE VISITOR WILL TAKE AN UNFORGETTABLE TOUR OF OVER 350 ARTWORKS.
THIS IS THE ONLY COLLECTION OF ITS KIND IN THE WORLD, FEATURING THE MOST IMPORTANT AND LARGEST GROUPING OF BRONZE SCULPTURES, SUCH AS THE 'SPACE ELEPHANT' AND THE 'BUSTE DE FEMME RETROSPECTIF'. THE SHOW ALSO DISPLAYS A STAGGERING NUMBER OF RARE GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATING THE GREAT THEMES OF LITERATURE, SUCH AS THE 'DIVINE COMEDY' AND 'HAMLET'. BEAUTIFUL SHIMMERING GLASS SCULPTURES, DALI INSPIRED FURNITURE, PAINTINGS, COLLAGES OF THE MYSTICAL 'TAROT' AND THE MAE WEST'S LIPS REMIND THE VIEWER THAT DALI WAS A MULTI-FACETED ARTIST WHO EXPLORED A WIDE RANGE OF THEMES AND MATERIALS. ONE OF THE HIGHLIGHTS OF THE EXHIBITION IS DALI'S VAST AND MESMERIZING ORIGINAL OIL PAINTING 'SPELLBOUND' WHICH WAS CREATED FOR THE SET OF ALFRED HITCHCOCK'S 1945 HOLLYWOOD MOVIE. THIS IS A RARE AND UNIQUE OCCASION FOR THE PEOPLE IN SHANGHAI AND VISITORS TO VIEW AN ENTHRALLING COLLECTION WHICH OFFERS THE GENERAL PUBLIC A SURREAL EXPERIENCE BEYOND THEIR WILDEST IMAGINATION.

DALI MUSEUM ANNOUNCES PLANS FOR NEW HURRICANE SAFE BUILDING

ONE OF THE LARGEST COLLECTIONS OF SALVADOR DALI WORKS OUTSIDE OF HIS NATIVE SPAIN IS BEING MOVED TO A MORE SECURE LOCATION, A HURRICANE-PROOF, CEMENT AND GLASS BUILDING LOCATED JUST A FEW BLOCKS AWAY FROM ITS ORIGINAL LOCATION IN ST PETERSBURG, FLORIDA. THE COLLECTION OF 2,140 PIECES, INCLUDING 96 PAINTINGS BY THE "ENFANT TERRIBLE" OF SURREALISM, AS WELL AS NUMEROUS ETCHINGS AND DRAWINGS, WILL BE RELOCATED IN A NEW, $35 MILLION STRUCTURE THAT WILL HAVE A STURDIER STRUCTURE AND BE LESS EXPOSED TO THE COASTAL ELEMENTS. THE MOST UNIQUE ASPECT OF THE NEW SALVADOR DALI MUSEUM WILL BE ITS 18 INCH THICK WALLS, CAPABLE OF RESISTING THE IMPACT OF A CATEGORY 5 HURRICANE, PACKING WINDS UP TO 165 MILES PER HOUR. ITS STRUCTURE AND INTERIOR DESIGN EVOKE ELEMENTS THAT ARE VERY CHARACTERISTIC OF DALI (1904-1989), SUCH AS "THE RATIONAL AND THE APOLLONIAN ALONGSIDE THE IRRATIONAL, DIONYSIAN AND FANTASTICAL", THE MUSEUM'S DIRECTOR, DR CHARLES HENRI HINE SAID IN A RECENT INTERVIEW. HE SAID DALI'S WORK WILL FINALLY HAVE THE HOME IT DESERVES IN THE NEW MUSEUM, WHICH IF PLANS PROCEED ACCORDING TO SCHEDULE, WILL BE INAUGURATED ON 11.JUNE.2011. ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT ATTRIBUTES OF THE ST PETERSBURG COLLECTION IS THAT IT GIVES A SENSE, LIKE NO OTHER, OF DALI'S 'SUCCESSIVE PERIODS" AND ALLOWS HIS FERVENT ADMIRERS TO APPRECIATE HIM BOTH AS A "CLASSIC, ALMOST IMPRESSIONIST" YOUNG ARTIST AND AS A SURREALIST PAINTER AND THE CREATOR OF 'NUCLEAR MYSTICISM", THE DIRECTOR SAID. REFERRING TO A THEORY OF ART DEVELOPED BY DALI THAT COMBINED RELIGION, MATH, SCIENCE AND CATALAN CULTURE IN AN ATTEMPT TO REVIVE CLASSICAL VALUES AND TECHNIQUE.
THE CURRENT MUSEUM DRAWS CLOSE TO 200,000 VISITORS A YEAR AND GENERATES $60 MILLION FOR THE LOCAL ECONOMY, AND THOSE NUMBERS COULD DOUBLE ONCE THE NEW BUILDING IS INAUGURATED. THE NEW, THREE STORY BUILDING WILL COVER AN AREA OF MORE THAN 64,500 SQUARE FEET, WITH DALI'S WORK EXHIBITED ON THE THIRD FLOOR, AND WILL INCLUDE A CAFETERIA, A THEATER, A BOOKSTORE AND A SCULPTURE GARDEN.