Frankfurt can look forward to another exhibition highlight. The SCHIRN art gallery is devoting a major show to the female side of surrealism. The works of 36 avant-garde female artists are on display until May 24. Among the best-known creators of surreal worlds are undoubtedly Frida Kahlo, Meret Oppenheim and Louise Bourgeois. But the exhibition also offers an exciting platform to previously lesser-known representatives of more than three decades of Surrealist art. Some 260 works by 34 women artists from eleven countries are on view in the large exhibition space that encompasses both galleries of the Schirn. The art forms include painting and drawing as well as sculpture, photography, and film. The result is stirring and surprising and is intended to offer precisely this entirely new perspective on surrealist art, as Dr. Philipp Demandt, director of the Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt, explains.
Until May 24, 2020, the Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt is presenting the major survey exhibition "Fantastic Women. Surreal Worlds from Meret Oppenheim to Frida Kahlo", which for the first time focuses on the female contribution to Surrealism and shows that the participation of female artists in the international movement was much more extensive than generally known and presented so far. Dr. Ingrid Pfeiffer, curator of the exhibition, emphasizes: "In no artistic movement of modernism did women play such a central role, even quantitatively, as in Surrealism, and yet many of their names and works are often missing from publications and survey exhibitions to this day. The women artists presented at the Schirn have absorbed the group's ideas in an inimitable way and continued to develop them in their highly individual works. In this synopsis, the international network, the incredible diversity, and the impressive independence of both the better-known and lesser-known Surrealist artists become clear. For Surrealism was a state of mind, not a style."
In the show, one encounters familiar themes of Surrealism, but by reversing the perspective, they reveal entirely new sides of the familiar. This, combined with the diverse range of styles and subject matter covered by the works, makes this exhibition not only well worth seeing, but also extremely significant. Even though the works shown by Frida Kahlo take up relatively little space, they are of course a big crowd puller. And that's a good thing, because even the artists who are less known, or for many not known at all, can be discovered by their more prominent colleagues through their popularity.
As usual, an extensive and very interesting catalogue has been published for the exhibition, which can be purchased at the museum as well as in bookstores. In addition, a varied supporting programme will take place throughout the duration of the show. Special tours, parties, film screenings and much more will be offered to interested visitors in the coming months. All info on the supporting program, the exhibition and the individual artists can also be found at: www.schirn.de
