Image:Salvador Dali, Alice in Wonderland (c) I.A.R. Resources Limited
1st April – 30th June 2011 Moor House, 120 London Wall, London. EC2.
Salvador Dalí’s iconic Alice in Wonderland sculpture makes its debut appearance in the UK, alongside an exhibition of rarely-seen works.
Modern Masters Gallery and The Dalí Universe have got together to present Dalí and the City, an outdoor installation of Salvador Dali’s Alice in Wonderland monument, previously unseen in the UK. The unveiling of this monumental piece will coincide with a comprehensive indoor exhibition of sculptures, prints and original collages.
Almost 5 metres high, Dalí’s bronze Alice in Wonderland was conceived in 1977. Between 1994 and 2010 the sculpture has travelled to cities worldwide, from Florence, Rome and Paris to Sydney, Singapore and Hong Kong. At long last the masterpiece will arrive in London, taking its place in this most unexpected setting – the heart of the City of London.
The inherent humour in Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland and Behind the Looking Glass was an inspiration to Dalí from as early as the 30s, offering a choice of subjects ideally suited to the imaginary worlds manifest in his art.
Preferring for his own Alice, however, the beauty of an adolescent girl with a rose head and bare breasts; Dalí evidently chose his subject for its shock value. This, together with its sheer scale, will have a profound impact in London – one to resonate beyond its immediate surroundings, and beyond the Square Mile itself.
The indoor exhibition will take place in Norman Foster-designed Moor House space. Alongside sculptural masterpieces such as The Profile of Time, Horse Saddled with Time, Lady Godiva with Butterflies and Man with Butterfly, this comprehensive collection will comprise graphic artworks, prints and mixed
media works.
Image:Salvador Dali, Diez de Copas (Tarot)
Dalí’s Tarot Cards, also on display in Moor House, reveal the artist’s fascination with the occult and the supernatural. Five of the cards, coming from a full set, will be part of this exhibition, and will demonstrate Dalí’s skill in mixed media. Each of these rare original artworks, a mixture of collage, gouache and watercolour on board, is signed by Dalí himself.
Finally, a retrospective glance at the last phase of Dalí’s life is revealed in his Memoires de Surrealism series. The lithographs recreate iconic surrealist images from the Dalinian oeuvre, including the butterfly; an icon since perpetuated by the contemporary artist Damian Hirst. In the self-portrait pictured below, Dalí makes reference to Duchamp’s famous interpretation of the Mona Lisa, positioning a half-length image of himself, with the Mona Lisa’s enigmatic smile, within his own surrealist landscape.
The indoor exhibition at Moor House is curated by Beniamino Levi. President of the Stratton Foundation for The Cultural Arts, an avid collector and expert on Dalí, Mr. Levi has curated this extensive selection of works to bring to life undiscovered aspects of the Spanish master’s work.
