Beyond Surrealism

This autumn, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen presents Beyond Surrealism: a group exhibition featuring six leading international artists: Kerstin Brätsch (1979), Monster Chetwynd (1973), Laure Prouvost (1978), Tai Shani (1976), Emma Talbot (1969), and Raphaela Vogel (1988). Each artist has selected works from the museum’s collection to present in relation to their own practice. Some were also given the opportunity to create new work especially for Beyond Surrealism. Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen is the only museum in the Netherlands with a world-class collection of surrealist art, making it the ideal venue for this exploration between contemporary art and surrealism. 

Friends are also invited to the exclusive preview of Beyond Surrealism on November 14.

In the exhibition

This visually striking exhibition encourages critical reflection on social issues and invites visitors to look at the world around them from a different perspective. Beyond Surrealism surprises visitors by showcasing museum masterpieces alongside contemporary art and stimulates thinking beyond conventional frameworks. 

Saskia van Kampen-Prein, Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, explains the concept: 

“In the uncertain and volatile times we live in, the imaginative power of surrealism and the desire for alternative realities continue to inspire many contemporary artists, even those who do not identify as surrealists. These six artists use imagination to address pressing contemporary themes and social issues such as gender, identity, feminism, and climate change, offering new perspectives in a complex world dominated by news of natural disasters, war, and inequality.” 

About Surrealism

More than a hundred years ago, in 1924, the first surrealist manifesto was published. Since then, countless artists from around the world have been inspired by surrealist thinking, developing similar ideas, poems, and artworks. Surrealism is not a strictly defined art-historical movement, but rather a mindset or way of life.