Surrealism Labels

GLOSSARY OF COMMON
SYMBOLS, THEMES, AND

MOTIFS IN SURREALISM
Death, sleep, dolls, birds, dis
torted forms, and mythology
are just a few of the symbols
and motifs in Surrealist art.
They conjure complex ideas
and concepts that grew
out of the groups reactions
to the devastating loss of life
and significant technological,
social, and political changes
in postWorld War I Europe.
The theories of Sigmund
Freud, the Viennese neuro
logist and father of psycho
analysis, who looked to
dreams and the unconscious
as keys for understanding
human behavior also
influenced the Surrealists.
The following is a key to
many recurring themes and
symbols that feature in the
works on view in The
Conjured Life. Look for the
symbols on the individual
object labels to direct you to
which themes can be found
in the artworks.
ANGELS, BIRDS, AND

WINGED MESSENGERS
Surrealist art frequently evokes a
dreamlike state, emphasizing tran
sitions between various realities.
Angels, birds, and other winged
messengers signal movement
between these realities. Birds were
a favorite motif and were used
to convey a range of meanings from
freedom to peace to power.
DEATH
The Surrealists were fascinated by
death. The specter of death lingers
over works that address mortality,
illness, disease, and the memorializ
ing of the dead.

THE GROTESQUE
The Surrealists challenged ideas of
reality. Often they depicted objects
or people transformed into absurd or
ugly things. These distortions of the
body often verged on the grotesque.
MANNEQUINS

AND DOLLS
Fascinated by automatons, robots,
and other proxies for the human
body, the Surrealists were part
icularly obsessed with mannequins
and dolls. These stand-ins for
humans often symbolize the tensions
between the animate and inanimate,
object and subject, and the real and
the imaginary.

MYTH AND LEGEND

Surrealists looked to historical
myths and legends to provide insight
into the human psyche. Sigmund
Freud, father of modern psychology,
whose theories inspired the
Surrealists, saw ancient Greek and
Roman myths as bearers of truth
and a way to understand the mind.

THE PHANTASMAGORICAL
STAGE
The Surrealists often presented their
works in what we now call instal
lationsmixed media constructions
or groupings typically designed for
a specific place and period of time.
They frequently staged events and
depicted the stage in their paintings,
emphasizing the theatrical. They also
used the stage as a symbol for access
to alternate realities.

SLEEP AND
SOMNAMBULISM
Surrealists believed that dreams
acted as portals to the subconscious
and thus often depicted sleep or
somnambulance, a sort of waking
sleep. Sleep was a state open to
visions, revelations, and prophecies.
A large-print version
is also available here.

THE SURREALIST
PORTRAIT
While the Surrealists did not
promote portraiture per se, many
works can be seen as psychological
or alternative portraits. Often
the head appears, portrayed
semi-abstracted or in a childlike
manner.
Gertrude Abercrombie
(American, 19091969)
Giraffe House, 1954
Oil on Masonite
Collection Museum of Contemporary Art
Chicago, bequest of Ruth S. Nath, 1998.5
Bowl of Grapes, 1945
Oil on Masonite
Chicago, gift of Mary and Earle Ludgin
Collection, 1982.51
Switches, 1952
Oil on Masonite
Chicago, gift of Albert and Muriel Newman,
1982.11
The Courtship, 1949
Oil on Masonite
Chicago, gift of the Gertrude Abercrombie Trust,
1978.56
This selection of four paintings by Gertrude

Abercrombie is representative of her distinct
style, which is simultaneously unassuming,
disquieting, and, at times, autobiographical.
The Courtship draws from Abercrombies
troubled relationship with her first husband and
features a self-portrait of the artist. In the
serene, small-scale composition of Bowl of
Grapes, the presence of two black gloves, set in
the shape of a cross, alludes to Abercrombies

experience as a garment illustrator.
Self-taught, Abercrombie was a pioneering
Chicago artist and deeply influenced by the
Surrealist movement. Many of her paintings stem
from an interest in the enigmatic quality of
everyday life. Her theatrical and austere com
positions feature ordinary subjects that are then
filtered through the artists imagination.
Auste
(American, b. 1950)
Scorn of Activity, n. d.
Acrylic, graphite, and pastel on paper
Chicago, gift of Maxine and Jerry Silberman,
1984.42
Enrico Baj
(Italian, 19242003)
Le General Mechant et Decore (Angry General
with Decorations), 1961
Oil, fabric, G-string, beads, metal, ribbons,
lace, metal string, colored glass, leather buttons,
and medals
Chicago, gift of Joseph and Jory Shapiro, 1992.48
One of a number of Enrico Bajs collages that

depict military officers festooned with actual
medals, this angry general looks more like a
deranged puppet. The way Baj depicted him is
no accident. Although influenced by several
different political movements in his native Milan,
Baj identified as a Surrealist even though he
was of a younger generation than the original
group. As such he brought a biting political satire
to his work. Whether collaged or portrayed
sculpturally as a clown-like vinyl blow-up, as
in Punching General nearby, Bajs feelings about
war as expressed through portraits of military
men were fueled by the relentless killing fields
of World War II.
Enrico Baj
(Italian, 19242003)
Punching General, 1969
Vinyl, metal, cloth, ribbon, foam, cord, wood,
Bristol board, medals, coil, curtain hooks, spring,
and acrylic
Balthus (Count Balthazar Klossowski de Rola)

(Swiss, b. France, 19082001)
Two Young Girls, 1949
Oil on board
In a familiar motif for the artist, this painting

depicts a pair of adolescent girls in a closed in
terior space, each lost in her own self-absorbed
reverie. An established figure of the 1930s
avant-garde art scene in Paris, Balthus shared
an interest in Freudian psychoanalysis with many
of his Surrealist contemporariesin particular,
Freuds influential writings on sexuality. Coyly
suggestive but not explicit, the foregrounded
figure in this painting lounges in a dreamlike state, recasting the art historical subject of
the reclining female nude in a style influenced
by Surrealism.
Don Baum
The Babies of della Robbia, 1965
Plastic dolls, nylon, paint, wood, cloth, and paper
A collection of cast-off dolls, this work animates

the triangular shape of a classical pediment,
found often in architecture of the Renaissance
period. The assemblage refers to the fifteenthcentury Florentine family of sculptors, the della
Robbias, known for their glazed terra-cotta
reliefs of the Madonna and child. The baby dolls,
stand-ins for the innocent, chubby putti found in
Renaissance art, are spray-painted white.
Their closed eyes and awkward arrangement
emphasize their lifelessness. A reproduction
of a Madonna and child peaks out from under
the dolls.
Don Baum, associated with the Monster Roster
of the late 1950sso named by a local critic for
their grotesque figuration rendered in somber
colorswas a galvanizing force in Chicago as an
artist. But he was especially important as an impresario who organized groundbreaking exhibitions at the Hyde Park Art Center, including the
Hairy Who shows in the mid-1960s.
Don Baum
Jai Seul la Clef de cette Parade Sauvage (I Alone
Have the Key to This Savage Parade), 1965
Plastic doll arms, wood, fur, and metal hardware
in wooden box
Chicago, gift of the artist, 1980.33
William Baziotes
Cat, 1950
Oil on canvas
Through his association in the 1940s with
Surrealists in New York who had fled World War
II, William Baziotes became interested in
automatismthe performance of actions without conscious thought or intention. His Surrealist
identity was assured when he showed with
Matta, Max Ernst, Victor Brauner, Leonora
Carrington, Wifredo Lam, Alexander Calder, Kay
Sage, Kurt Seligmann, and Yves Tanguyall of
whom who are also represented in this
exhibitionin the scandalous 1942 First Papers of
Surrealism exhibition in New York. Baziotes
was particularly drawn to animal imagery, as in
this free interpretation of a cat that emphasizes
the felines head and round fluffy paws.
Baziotes achieved an otherworldly quality in his
paintings through lyrical brushwork and the
use of clear but muted color, differentiating his
work from the European Surrealists for whom
color was not a primary concern.
Hans Bellmer
(German, b. Poland, 19021975)
La Poupe (The Doll), 1934
Silver gelatin print mounted on canvas
Private collection
Hans Bellmer was conversant with the

procedures of studio photography, and posed
his modela conglomeration of mannequin and
doll partsand employed lighting and props to
create this haunting image. Although the large
scale of this work is unusual for photography
of the 1930s, the negative image was more
common, one of the many ways artists experimented with the medium.
Bellmer was exploring sexuality and his own
psychology in the doll works, but they were also
a political statement against the perfection of
the body as promulgated by the Nazis claims of
Aryan superiority. Bellmer had made works
such as this piece, which were seen as Surrealist
in Germany, before he was forced by the rise
of Nazism to leave in 1938. In Paris he fell in
with the Surrealists for whom the political and
the personal were of great importance.
Hans Bellmer
(German, b. Poland, 19021975)
La Toupie (The Top), 1938/1968
Oil on bronze
Fred Berger
A Flower; A Child; Will They Grow?, 1971
Charcoal and white crayon on brown paper
Chicago, restricted gift of Ruth Horwich, Samuel
W. and Blanche M. Koffler, Audrey and Bob
Lubin, Susan and Lewis Manilow, Joseph and
Jory Shapiro, and Lynn and Allen Turner, 1991.6
Harry Bertoia
(American, b. Italy, 19151978)
Landscape Fantasy, n. d.
Lead, wire, and stone slab
Chicago, gift of Ruth Horwich, 1993.5.aj
Forrest Bess
All works are oil on canvas, and Collection
Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago,
gift of Mary and Earle Ludgin Collection
Clockwise from upper left:
Seascape with Sun, 1947
1981.27
Seascape with Moon, 1947
1981.26
Wheatfield, c. 1951
1981.28
Untitled, c. 1950
1981.21
Untitled, n. d.
1981.30
Homage to Ryder, 1951
1981.22
Untitled, n. d.
1981.29
Forrest Besss art is based on the Surrealist principle of the unconscious as a fundamental creative
medium and instrument of knowledge. He was
particularly inspired by Swiss psychoanalyst C. G.
Jung, with whom he corresponded. Jung argued
that the power of the unconscious allowed
individuals to visualize cosmic ideals through a
system of primary, collectively shared images.

Besss entre into this collective unconscious
was to capture the visions he experienced while
drifting off to sleep. His paintings are characterized by a recurrent vocabulary of simplified
geometric and organic formswhich the artist
described as primordial symbols that he
connected with the life energy of sexuality, both
male and female. Following his belief that the
unity of the two sexes would lead to immortality,
Bess underwent surgery to become a pseudohermaphrodite.
A self-taught artist, Bess was a Texan who
barely scraped by as a shrimp-fisherman.
He painted on tiny scraps of canvas and often
framed the works with driftwood he collected
on the beaches of his Bay City home. As the
result of another correspondence with Betty
Parsons, from 1950 until 1967, his paintings were
represented by her pioneering Manhattan
gallery. Bess frequently made homages to other
artists whom he felt viewed creativity in a
manner similar to his own. Two such works can
be seen here: Homage to Ryder and Wheatfield.
Homage to Ryder refers to Albert Pinkham Ryder,
known for his allegorical landscapes. Wheatfield
is a dark homage to Vincent Van Gogh, who
painted numerous canvases on this subject,
and whose quest for personal, emotional truth
resonated deeply with Bess.
Lee Bontecou
(American, b. 1931)
Untitled, 19902000
Welded steel, porcelain, wire mesh, silk,
and wire
Chicago, gift of Helen and Sam Zell, 2005.26
In this suspended sculpture, Lee Bontecou
fashioned small porcelain balls that connect
through an intricate network of piano wire to
a large central orb; sections of wire mesh
and silk fabric define planes and arcs. This slowly
whirling galaxy of forms conjures an array of
associationsa sailing ship, a tropical angel fish,
a planet with its moons, and so on.
As with many contemporary artists, Bontecou
draws from a number of sources, but Surrealism
is a major influence. The overall feel of Untitled
mirrors the dynamic lines and organic shapes
found in Mattas canvases, which are on view
in this exhibition. She was also influenced by the
mysterious boxes of Joseph Cornell, whom she
knew and admired.
Phyllis Bramson
(American, b. 1941)
Perfumed Garden (Implications), 1994
Monotype and collage on paper
Chicago, gift of The Ruttenberg Family, courtesy
of the David C. and Sarajean Ruttenberg Arts
Foundation, 1996.30
Pastoral and sensual vignettes structure a dreamlike narrative in this exploration of Romantic
love. Phyllis Bramson draws from numerous eras
and styles, connecting the visual materials with
color and patterning. This patterning includes
a swath of wallpaper that depicts grapes ready
for the harvesting, a none too subtle reference
to ripe for the plucking, common nineteenthcentury parlance for taking advantage of nave
young women.
While Bramsons influences arise from a broad
range of art history and popular culture,
especially kitsch, the overall effect of her work is
of a pleasant yet ultimately disquieting step
away from reality that connects it to Surrealism.
While not associated with any of the self-named
groups, such as the Hairy Who, which emerged
from the Hyde Park Art Center and came to
be collectively dubbed Chicago Imagism in the
1970s, her work has many affinities to this style
in its distorted figuration and bright colors.
Victor Brauner
(Romanian, 19031966)
The Knight, August, 1949, 1949
Encaustic on board
Victor Brauners two paintings in this exhibition

span more than a decade of his career. The
Knight, August, 1949, is typical of the artistic
style Brauner developed after his fallout with
the Surrealists, with whom he had exhibited
frequently in Paris until 1948. In it, Brauner
creates a more flattened sense of space, and
the work reveals the influence of indigenous
cultures of the Americas. In contrast, Brauners
earlier work on display, The Object that Dreams II
(1938), employs the modeling of light and
shadow to create a three-dimensional space
with greater depth. Yet, key Surrealist tropes are
evident in both: the use of animal spirits, symbolism, and sexuality.
Victor Brauner
(Romanian, 19031966)
LObjet qui reve II (The Object that Dreams II), 1938
Oil on canvas
Claude Cahun
(Lucy Schwob; French, 18941954)
Autoportrait (Le Mystre dAdam)
(Self-Portrait [The Mystery of Adam]), 1929
Silver gelatin print
Private collection
Wearing angel wings but hardly presenting

herself as an innocent angel, Claude Cahun
enacts a scene from a 1929 adaptation of the
twelth-century play, The Mystery of Adam,
which explored the biblical story of Adam and
Eve. The character she plays is actually Satan,
who, after all, was a fallen angel.
A revolutionary figure who showed frequently
with the Parisian Surrealists, Claude Cahun
can rightly be seen as a predecessor to Cindy
Sherman, on view opposite, in that she employed
elaborate costumes and makeup and performed
as the subject of her photographs. With her
partner Suzanne Malherbe, who like Cahun took
a male nom-de-plume (Marcel Moore), the
couple fled the Nazi occupation of Paris, relocating to a family cottage on Jersey Island. During
World War II, however, this island was the only
part of Great Britain to be conquered and
Cahun and Moore, fearless proponents of their
personal, political, and artistic beliefs, were
active in the resistance to the Nazi occupation.
Alexander Calder
Untitled, c. 1944
Steel and wire
Chicago, gift of Mary and Earle Ludgin
Collection, 1983.108
This mobile, a form that Alexander Calder
invented, shows elements that are similar to
works of the same era that he titled Spider,
in which the forms resemble pedipalps, a
specialized mouth part of spiders. The matte
black color also evokes the spider. Although
he never associated himself with any art movement, Calder had a Surrealist period in his
inventive and prolific career. As a young man in
1920s Paris, Calder had made friends with
many of the avant-garde. As Surrealism grew
into an international movement, Calder notably
participated in the 1942 First Papers of Surrealism
exhibition, with recent scholarship postulating
that Marcel Duchamps famous cobwebbing
of the exhibition with yards of white string
had in fact been sparked by an off-hand remark
by Calder.
Alexander Calder
A Detached Person, 1944/1968
Bronze
Edition 2 of 6
The Leonard and Ruth Horwich Family Loan,
EL1995.5
Leonora Carrington
(Mexican, b. England, 19172011)
Portrait of the Late Mrs. Partridge, 1947
Oil on board
Private collection
When asked about this work, the artist identified

her subject as the painter Dora Carrington
(no relation). Both Leonora and Dora had been
part of the Surrealist scene in 1920s Paris
revolving around poet Andr Breton. Later Dora
had an unconventional marriage to Major
Ralph Partridge that allowed her to continue an
intense affair of the heart with writer Lytton
Strachey, a member of Englands Bloomsbury
literary and arts group. Shortly after Stracheys
death from cancer in 1932, Dora Carrington
committed suicide, thus the late Mrs. Partridge.
The extravagant hairdo was one of Leonora
Carringtons painterly trademarks, perhaps
originating with the first line of one of Bretons
well-known poems: My wife with the hair of
a wood fire. A poet and writer herself, Leonora
Carrington lived a long and colorful life. She
was born into British-Irish aristocracy but rebelled
against its strictures as a young woman. She
was Max Ernsts companion in the 1930s. During
World War II, she had a severe mental breakdown and was confined to an asylum in Spain.
Later she fled to Mexico where she was close to
Remedios Varo, also on view in the exhibition.
Carrington briefly relocated to Oak Park, Illinois,
in the 1980s and enjoyed a friendship with her
neighbor, Surrealist collector and MCA benefactor Joseph Shapiro.
Patty Carroll
(American, b. 1946)
Octopussy from the series Anonymous Women,
c. 1995
Chromogenic development print
Chicago, gift of John and Dorianne Venator,
2011.35
Nick Cave
(American, b. 1959)
Hair Brush, 1999
Hair Brush, 1999
Wood, metal, and hair
Chicago, gifts of John and Dorianne Venator,
2010.30 and 2010.31
Saint Clair Cemin

(Brazilian, b. 1951)
Untitled (Collapsing Table), 1988
Wood, bronze, fabric, and metal
Chicago, Will Hokin Family Collection,
2009.24.ab
George Cohen
Hermes, 1954
Oil on Masonite
Collection Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, gift of Gift of Joseph and Jory Shapiro,
1991.27
In this work, Hermes, the winged messenger god

of the Greeks, is shown as a sort of whirligig
in the center of the painting. George Cohen
indicates Hermess additional role as an escort of
souls to the netherworld by the shadowy figure
on the right and the dark, schematized head at
the paintings bottom center. One of the Monster
Roster, a name given to like-minded artists
who emerged in Chicago in the immediate post
World War II era, Cohen was a lifelong
Chicagoan and a beloved teacher at Northwestern University.
Along with his School of the Art Institute of
Chicago compatriot Leon Golub, also on view,
Cohen was inspired by the new field of psychoanalysis. He was also influenced by Surrealism,
which supported his observations at the Field
Museum where he worked during his student
years. The Fields wide-ranging cultural collections revealed to him deep wellsprings of artistic
creativity. Like many of the Monster Roster,
Cohen looked to Classical mythology to frame
his explorations of the transitory and fragmented
nature of postwar life, a period when both
nations and individuals attempted to rebuild.
Willie Cole
(American, b. 1955)
Heal and Rest, 1992
Painted wood, steam iron handles and electrical
cords, and plugs
Chicago, gift of Lannan Foundation, 1997.31
Hybrid Casco/G.E., 1992
Casco and G.E. electric irons
Collection of the Museum of Contemporary Art,
gift of Lannan Foundation, 1997.30
Willie Cole transforms discarded domestic

objects into sculptures that often refer to
elements of traditional African art and history.
The totem-like figure that results from the
combination of old steam iron parts and painted
wood resembles sculptural forms from West
Africa, which are often imbued with sacred
meanings or healing powers. Thus, the title of
Coles workHeal and Restpoints to the
particular powers the artist associated with this
piece, melding ancient rituals and traditions
with late-twentieth-century cultural artifacts.
This kind of mash-up was a favored strategy employed by Surrealist artists, who were also
interested in destabilizing perceptions of high and
low culture.
Antonia Contro
(American, b. 1957)
iO, 2013
Photographic cut-outs, doll socks, beeswax,
and pins in artists frame
Courtesy of the artist
Described as a self-portrait by the artist, this

work draws upon many of the strategies
employed by the Surrealists. Antonia Contros use
of collage elements allows for multiple inter
pretations, notably incorporating cut-out images
of her own eyes that are then adhered to
miniature doll socks. The artist also notes that
the unconscious or suspended state guided the
execution of this piece. Based in Chicago, but
of Italian descent, the title playfully suggests
the inward-looking nature of the work, since io
is the Italian translation of Iand is further
translated into image form through the repetiton
of her eyes.
Joseph Cornell
Untitled (Doll Habitat), 195065
Wood and plastic doll
Private collection
Although more simple than many of Joseph

Cornells assemblages, the coyly posed doll
within the encrusted wooden box has the
mystery and drama that the artist is so well
known for. Cornell was aware of Hans Bellmers
(also in the exhibition) highly manipulated
and often explicit dolls and by presenting his doll
intact, he may have been mounting a subtle
protest about what he considered the dark side
of Surrealism, which was often violent and
highly sexual. Because his artistic thinking paralleled that of many of the original group,
Cornell has often been aptly described as the
American Surrealist.
By placing incongruous and seemingly disconnected objects within a box, Cornell was not only
claiming them as symbols in his own dream
life, but also trying to construct an imaginary past.
Aaron Curry
(American, b. 1972)
Figure Drawing, 2009
Wood, spray paint, acrylic, colored pencil,
paper, painters tape, and steel base
Chicago, gift of Helen and Sam Zell, 2013.1
In titling this work Figure Drawing Aaron Curry
immediately set up a dissonant situation:
although it consists of flat planes upon which
marks have been made, the object is clearly
three-dimensional, and thus belongs to the
artworld category of sculpture. Curry draws
from both the Modern artists of the early
twentieth century, especially Alexander Calder
and the Surrealists Hans Bellmer and Yves
Tanguy (all of whom are on view here), as well
as todays skateboard and graffiti culture. His
contemporary statements are thoroughly versed
in art history.
Like many others in this exhibition, Curry studied
at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago;
Barbara Rossi, also on view, was one of his
teachers. The Chicago Imagists in general and
the work of sculptor H. C. Westermann were
also important to his development, in part
because of their contrarian, as well as surrealist
tendencies to explore psychological states.
Tom Czarnopys
(American, b. 1957)
Untitled, 1984
Oak and maple bark, poplar branch, and acrylic
paint and matte medium on plastered gauze
Chicago, restricted gift of MCA Collectors Group
and Illinois Arts Council Purchase Grant, 1985.16
Like many of the more traditional Surrealist artists, Tom Czarnopys discovers the extraordinary
in the ordinary through curiosity, imagination,
and wonder. A native of Western Michigan,
the artist spent much of his youth immersed in
the natural environment, which left a lasting
impression on him. This untitled sculpture by
Czarnopys evokes the spirit of the deep woods,
which is both familiar and unfamiliar in its
transformation of the human figure. To make
this piece, the artist cast a figure in plaster gauze
and then attached segments of gathered tree
bark to the external surface.
Henry Darger
Untitled (At Jennie RicheeMabel introduces her
blengin sisters (three of them) to the little Vivians
one p.m./At Jennie Richee 12:35 p.m. storm breaks
loose (Vivian girls) seeking shelter with blengin
friends, n. d.
Carbon ink, graphite, tempera, and collage
on paper
Chicago, gift of Nathan Lerner, 1980.64.ab
Self-taught artist Henry Darger worked in
complete anonymity during his long life;
thousands of his drawings and written works
were discovered after he became ill and
was moved to a nursing home. His landlord,
well-known photographer Nathan Lerner
(who is also in this exhibition) recognized their
importance and had them conserved and disseminated to viewers and collectors in Chicago
and beyond. Darger used techniques of collage
and tracing, often copying images from mag
azines and childrens books. This work is typical
of his compositions depicting homey interiors
populated by children and fantastic creatures
here ram-horned girls described as blengins.
The Surrealists and many Chicago-based artists
were attracted to self-taught artists. Their
unfettered imaginations provided fascinating
and inspiring glimpses into creativity and the
human subconscious.
Enrico David
(Italian, b. 1966)
Room for Small Head (Nadia), 2013
Plaster
Chicago, gift of Albert A. Robin, Arnold M.
Gilbert, and James Petrozzini by exchange,
2014.17
References to the human body ground the experience of Enrico Davids sculptures, but ultimately
his forms embrace the enigmatic. Modeled
after a wooden form on a Nordic sailing ship
that functions to stabilize the mast, Room for
Small Head (Nadia) is reminiscent of both a device for holding down the body and a prostrate
human form. Depicting the perpetual meta
morphosis and change that is inherent to living
bodies, Davids sculpture blends abstraction and
anthropomorphism. Both clumsy and elegant, the
work demonstrates the dissolution of the body
into abstraction, adapting the visual language of
Surrealism to a three-dimensional form.
Paul Delvaux
(Belgian, 18971994)
Penelope, 1945
Oil on board
As told by Homer in the ancient Greek epic The

Odyssey, Penelope is the wife of the Odysseus,
king of Ithaca, who was called to fight in the
Trojan War. Penelope is left waiting twenty
years for Odysseuss return as he is challenged
by the gods again and again during his voyage
home. She wards off suitors by weaving a
tapestry by day and undoing the work by night,
as she announced she would marry when the
tapestry was complete. Besides the title, Paul
Delvaux gives a number of clues to the womans
identity: Her garb is rendered in a color known
as Tyrian purple, a costly dye associated with
royalty. In the distance classical Greek Ionic
columns are silhouetted against the sky, and she
paces a dock alongside a dark, choppy sea.
The turbulent waters and her profile reflected
in the skewed mirror to the right symbolize her
long-standing distress.
Delvaux was not in the central group of
Surrealists but showed with them from time to
time. Influenced by his fellow countryman Ren
Magritte and others, he developed his signature
womenoften nude and often described as
appearing to be walking in their sleepin architectural settings that evoked a timeless mystery.
Leonardo Drew
(American, b. 1961)
Number 68, 1998
Ceramic, fabric, paper, metal, and wood
Chicago, gift of the Cooper Family Foundation,
2003.6.ab
Jean Dubuffet
(French, 19011985)
La Verrue sous le nez (Wart Under the Nose), 1951
Oil on board
Chicago, gift of Mr. and Mrs. E. A. Bergman,
1978.43
Jean Dubuffet shared the Surrealists interest

in the art of the untrained or by individuals held
in asylums. Andr Breton and others central to
the movement had long been fascinated in the
expressions by these so-called nave artists, who
were thought of as being more authentically
in touch with an individuals or perhaps even
the universal subconscious. Dubuffet had collected a large number of works of what he dubbed
lart brut before he himself took up painting.
In his artistic efforts, Dubuffet was guided by the
idea of direct, untrained expression as can be
seen in this work, which resembles a childs
drawing. In it he failed to differentiate between
the mans head and his hat and thickly applied
paint to create the wart of the title.
Jimmie Durham
(American, b. 1940)
In a Cabin in the Woods, 2010
Deer skin, wood, and felt
Chicago, gift of Mary and Earle Ludgin by
exchange, 2014.36
Jimmie Durhams work resounds with Surrealist
techniques, especially in the juxtaposition of
incongruous objects and images that evoke a
dream world or the reveries of a shaman.
Durham comes to his imagery via a very different path than the Surrealists, however, nego
tiating his Native American heritage in relation
to other cultural, social, and political forces.
The wooden box placed as the head of the
felt coat that shows a deers head peeping from
within the folds transforms the familiar into
the uncanny. The title of this work comes from
an old campfire song for children, which calls up
fear, compassion, and comfort.
In a cabin, in a wood
Little man by the window stood
Saw a rabbit hopping by
Knocking at his door
Help me! Help me! Help me! he cried
Wicked hunter shoot me dead
Little rabbit come inside
Safely to abide.
Max Ernst
(French, b. Germany, 18911976)
Loplop Introducing a Bird, 1929/57
Plaster, oil, and wood
Max Ernsts alter ego in his paintings was a bird

he dubbed Loplop, which was essentially his
animal familiar, a mystical spirit guide in animal
form. He suggested that this alter ego emerged
when a beloved pet bird died just as his sister
was born and he confused birds and humans.
This work with its rough plaster ground evokes
the technique of frottage, which Ernst invented,
wherein paper or canvas is laid over a surface
and the artist rubs a pencil over it to reveal the
contours of the surface on the paper.
A major figure in the Surrealist group, Ernst had
also been a member of the Dada movement.
This loose affiliation of artists had preceded
Surrealism and emphasized anti-establishment
provocations and political involvement, tendencies that were also important to the Surrealists.
Like many other of the group, Ernst was forced
to flee Europe by the outbreak of World War II,
and eventually settled in Sedona, Arizona,
in the late 1940s with his wife Dorothea
Tanning. He had previously been involved with
Leonora Carrington; both women are on view
in this exhibition.
Max Ernst
(French, b. Germany, 18911976)
Red Owl, 1952
Oil on canvas
Mark Grotjahn
(American, b. 1968)
Untitled (S II Some of us didnt know we were
Indian, Painting for RH, Face 41.72), 2011
Oil on cardboard mounted on linen
Chicago, gift of Cari and Michael J. Sacks,
2011.53
American painter Mark Grotjahn has adopted
a variety of styles over the years. In this recent
work, the artist references the influence of
primitive art on modern artists, and most
directly Pablo Picassos Les Demoiselles dAvignon
(1907). Like Picasso, many of the Surrealists were
influenced by a growing exposure to indigenous
cultures in Europe; feathers, tribal masks,
and other symbolic objects are featured in many
Surrealist works. Grotjahn employs many of
these strategiessuch as the abstract faces
lozenge-shaped eyes and mask-like character
isticswhile also playing with the artists
signature, as if the letters of his name were part
of a Surrealist word game.
Philip Hanson
(American, b. 1943)
Rousseaus Lily, 1972
Acrylic on board
Chicago, gift of Albert J. Bildner, 1974.3
Jess (Jess Collins)

Midday Forfit: Feignting Spell II, 1971
Magazine pages, jigsaw-puzzle pieces, tapestry,
lithographic mural, wood, and straight pin
Chicago, restricted gift of MCA Collectors Group,
Mens Council, and Womens Board; Kundstadter
Bequest Fund in honor of Sigmund Kunstadter;
and National Endowment for the Arts Purchase
Grant, 1982.30
From a suite on the four seasons, this inventively

titled collage displays the poetic mysticism
of Symbolisma late-nineteenth-century pre
decessor to Surrealism that used symbolic
images and indirect suggestion to express
mystical ideas and states of mind. It also shows
the free-association thought processes of
Surrealism. The jigsaw-puzzle pieces provide
a key: Midday Forfit is composed of fragments
whose full meaning can become clear only
when viewed as a whole. The punning nature
of the title is continued in the works imagery:
on the right, a doorknob permits the viewer to
get a handle on the work.
After a career as a radiochemist, San Francisco
based Jess, who dropped his surname, took
up art making. His work consistently featured
a literary dimension, in part through his association with his partner, the poet Robert Duncan.
Jeff Koons
(American, b. 1955)
Lifeboat, 1985
Bronze
Edition 3 of 3
Chicago, Gerald S. Elliott Collection, 1995.56.ac
In this work from the artists Equilibrium series,
a full-sized rubber life raft is cast in bronze
and weighs more than 600 pounds. In an ironic
twist, the item meant to save lives would
plummet to the bottom of the sea, stranding any
shipwreck victims. Jeff Koons, one of todays
most well-known artists, admits a debt both to
Surrealism and to the Chicago School. Professing
inspiration from the artist who is perhaps syn
onymous with Surrealism, Salvador Dal, Koons
has created a number of works featuring
lobsters in homage to the master. Additionally,
he has cited the work of Chicago-based Jim
Nutt and the work and tutelage of Ed Paschke,
both represented in this exhibition, as seminal
to his development as an artist.
David Kotker
Headed Boat, 1985
Bronze, lead, steel, stone, and wood
Chicago, restricted gift of Dr. and Mrs. Peter W.
Broido, Stefan T. Edlis, and Illinois Arts Council
Purchase Grant, 1986.11
Wifredo Lam
(Cuban, 19021982)
Annunciation, 1944
Oil on canvas
1977.28
The work of Wifredo Lam is marked by his

experiences growing up in Cuba. This work takes
its cue from a long tradition of Western religious
paintings of the same name, which depict an
angel announcing to the Virgin Mary that she
will be the mother of Jesus. The setting for
this scene is tropical, however, and depicts the
angels and Virgin Mary as exotic animal-like
figures. Fascinated by the rich motifs and earthy
spiritualism of the artists Afro-Cuban culture,
the Surrealists welcomed Lam in Paris, where he
lived for many years until the outbreak of World
War II.
Ellen Lanyon
Toulouse Deposee, 2012
Acrylic on canvas
Chicago, gift of the Estate of Ellen Lanyon,
2014.28
Ellen Lanyon distinguished herself through a

Surrealist-tinged magical realism. An artist of
the same generation as Leon Golub, June Leaf,
and others of the Monster Roster, Lanyons
imagery and painting style set her apart from
this group. She often juxtaposed arcane items
with animals or scenes from nature, as can be
seen in this work. An antique cork remover,
which was from the artists in-depth collection
of obsolete and often puzzling tools and household objects, is imagined as a kind of snipping
device. Behind it is a swirl of greens and purples
that on closer examination reveals a stylized
stork or heron, its long beak mirroring the
objects scissors, which has been positioned to
accentuate its birdlike form.
June Leaf
(American, b. 1929)
Left to right:
Woman at the Door, 1966
Oil on clay, wood, and glass
Chicago, gift of the Susan and Lewis Manilow
Collection of Chicago Artists, 1993.20
Dancer and Old Man, 1966
Oil on plaster and wood
Character Yells at Storyteller, 1970
Watercolor on paper with collage
June Leaf depicts her stand-in, Character, in

comic booklike panels, enacting scenarios as if
illustrations to a story. Alas he was an artist
is the lament as the lovely young woman tries
her best at a relationship but fails. The theatrical
quality of the work, partly influenced by
Seymour Rosofsky, also on view, is front and
center in her sculpture, which depicts stereo
typical male-female role-playing with spindly,
unflattering figures. In her two-dimensional
work, Leaf adapts a similar narrative technique,
as if capturing scenes from her own childhood
and young adulthood.

Leaf, one of the circle of artists in immediate
postwar Chicago dubbed the Monster Roster
so named by a local critic for their grotesque
figuration rendered in somber colorsbrought
a whimsical liveliness to her figurative paintings
and sculptures that balanced the often gloomy
and serious work produced by the men of the
group. A student at the Institute of Design,
Leaf had traveled to Paris in 1947 where the socalled primitive art on display at the Muse de
lHomme captured her imagination. This
attraction to unschooled art and to the imaginative theatricality of such local attractions as the
legendary, long-shuttered Riverview Amusement
Park, inspired Leaf to make unconventional
paintings and sculptures.
Nathan Lerner
Eye and Barbed Wire, 1939
Gelatin silver print
Chicago, gift of Arnold M. Gilbert, 1974.17.3
In this photograph, the disembodied eye,

partially buried, along with a section of barbed
wire evokes the strange and uncanny qualities
of Surrealism. Nathan Lerner took inspiration
from the growing exposure of Surrealist art in
Chicago; he made this composition while
studying under Hungarian artist Lszl MoholyNagy at the New Bauhaus School of Design
in Chicago.
A longtime professor in Chicago, Lerner would
go on to have a strong impact on the development of younger generations of artists in the
city, many of whom were similarly influenced
by Surrealism. In a strange twist of fate, Lerner
was also Henry Dargers landlordanother artist
featured in the exhibitionwho discovered
Dargers work shortly before Darger died in 1973.
Robert Lostutter
(American, b. 1939)
Forktailed Wood Nymph and Ruby-Topaz
Hummingbird, 1982
Watercolor and pencil on paper
Chicago, gift of the artist, Dart Gallery,
the Illinois Arts Council Purchase Grant, and
matching funds, 1982.24
Ren Magritte
(Belgian, 18981967)
Les merveilles de la nature (The Wonders of
Nature), 1953
Oil on canvas
For Ren Magritte, as for many other Surrealist

artists, the combination of unlikely yet familiar
objects was key to producing a sense of the
uncanny. His career was defined by a search for
the extraordinary in the ordinary. In Les merveilles
de la nature, the artist reversed the longheld
mythic depiction of the mermaid form, presenting instead creatures with human legs and fish
torsos and heads. Painted in a realistic manner,
the reversal is perhaps all the more unnerving,
especially as one finds the figures to be petrified
in stone along the shore. Further disrupting
the faux-realism of the painting is the ship that
sails in the background, rendered entirely out
of waves that creep into the sky. As such, the
painting is a signature Surrealist work, and one
of the most iconic in the MCA Collection.
Marisol (Marisol Escobar)

(American, b. France, 1930)
Printers Box, 1956
Painted wood, plaster, and glass
Matta (Roberto Matta Echaurren)

(French, b. Chile, 19112002)
Conference, 1957
Bronze
Matta (Roberto Matta Echaurren)

(French, b. Chile, 19112002)
Lets Phosphoresce by Intellection #1, 1950
Oil on canvas
1976.45
This work by the Chilean-born artist Matta

depicts a scene straight out of science fiction that
combines both organic and mechanical forms.
The atmospheric painterly style further suggests
a dreamlike state. In his early writings, Matta
discussed environments that would adapt themselves to a person through the use of technology,
and this work depicts such a convergent world.
The artist was a core member of the Surrealist
movement in Paris, which he joined in the 1920s.
Notably, Matta taught in Chicago in the early
1950s as a visiting artist at the School of the Art
Institute of Chicago. His influence on a younger
generation of artists certainly contributed to the
lasting Surrealist legacy in the city.
Gordon Matta-Clark
Untitled, 1971/72
Marker and graphite on paper
Chicago, gift of Anne Alpert and Jane Crawford,
1985.31
Born Gordon Roberto Echaurren Matta,
Matta-Clark, known for his innovative cutting
into buildings to produce what he termed
anarchitecture, was the son of Matta, one of
the founders of Surrealism. Matta had worked
briefly in Le Corbusiers studio and Matta-Clark
trained as an architect at Cornell University.
Matta-Clark was deeply connected to nature,
participating in early Earth Art exhibitions, and
to his fellow human, which he expressed by
founding the legendary cooperative restaurant
Food in Manhattan with a group of like-minded
artists. This emphasis on stewardship and
community had parallels to Surrealist artists who
grouped together to advance their political
and aesthetic causes. He also had a strong interest in alchemy, another area of interest to the
Surrealists that passed down to him through his
father and his fathers circle of friends.
One of Matta-Clarks little known energy
drawings, this work renders a tree in a con
fident and flowing line that can also be seen in
his fathers paintings. The work manifests a
strong spirituality embedded in the connectedness of all things.
Wangechi Mutu
(Kenyan, b. 1972)
Thats my death mask youre wearing, 2004
Ink, collage, and contact paper on Mylar
Chicago, gift of Sara Szold, 2014.40
Thats my death mask youre wearing summons

Surrealisms use of collage and montage to
create fantastical scenes. Best known for her
collages, Wangechi Mutus signature style
often combines cutouts from printed media with
paintings she executes on Mylara material
often chosen for its metallic, reflective properties.
The results are splotchy yet seductive patterns
that create psychedelic effects. The resulting
figures are mythic female creaturespart
humanoid and part plant or animalthat Mutu
invents from her imagination, fairytale
characters from Western mythology, or stories
from her native Kenya.
Gladys Nilsson
(American, b. 1940)
Giant Byrd, 1971
Acrylic on canvas
Chicago, gift of Herbert Gibbs, 1991.11
Intertwined to form a tapestry of color and

form, fantastical creatures, plant-like forms, and
elongated figures populate Gladys Nilssons
punningly titled composition. The giant bird of
the title seems to be a plucked chicken, the
flesh-toned, amorphous form that dominates the
center left. One of the original Hairy Who
artiststhe self-named group that emerged in
the mid-1960sNilssons inventive, highly
distorted figuration is a shared characteristic of
that group. In her often whimsical compositions,
the flowing line and cartoonlike style often
masks more serious male-female interactions
and commentary. A lifelong Chicagoan, like
other School of the Art Institute of Chicago
graduates Nilsson was influenced by Surrealism,
the art of the untrained, and the collections at
the Field Museum of Natural History.
David Noonan
(Australian, b. 1969)
Untitled, 2012
Silk screen on linen and collage
Chicago, gift of Marshall Fields by exchange,
2012.118
This untitled work collages together different

silk-screened images onto frayed linen; the overall effect is one of intrigue and oddity in bringing
together myth and realism. Stylistically, the
artist references Surrealism and experimental
film techniques in this work, documenting
futuristic performances that remain in the realm
of the imaginary. To create them, David
Noonan often sources an eclectic array of found
imageryfrom film stills, books, magazines,
and archival photos of theatrical performances
from the 1960s and 1970sto create his own
hybrid art form.
Jim Nutt
(American, b. 1938)
Summer Salt, 1970
Acrylic on vinyl and enamel on wood
Chicago, gift of Dennis Adrian in honor of
Claire B. Zeisler, 1980.30.1
Painted on the underside of a clear plastic

window shade, this work combines small images
derived from comic strips and tabloid advertising of the 1940s and 1950s with a completely
invented central image. Although bound and
mutilated, the cartoonlike nature of the figure
changes the impact of the violence depicted.
The forms upon which the figure sits are
reminiscent not only of surrealist mark making
but resemble the manner in which the untrained
artist Joseph Yoakum (whose work is on display
adjacent) rendered mountains.
Jim Nutt was one of the Chicago-based artists
who discovered and admired Yoakums
drawings. The title, a pun on the acrobatic
somersault, perhaps refers to the shade on
which the work is painted, which can roll up,
revealing another scene painted beneath it.
Among the best-known of the Hairy Who
the self-named group which emerged in the
mid-1960s and used bright colors and often
outrageous imageryNutt displays a wide
range of influences, including Surrealism, in his
paintings.
William J. OBrien
(American, b. 1975)
Untitled, 2008
Mixed media
Chicago, gift of Mary and Earle Ludgin by
exchange, 2014.20
Untitled is composed of differently colored thread
wrapped and woven tightly, creating a com
position of positive and negative spaces. The
sculpture recalls the scale and proportion of the
human body, which is often a veiled reference
in William J. OBriens works. Based in Chicago,
the artist often speaks of embracing contra
dictions in his work, and he emphasizes both
structure and elements of improvisation. As a
result, his work has a sense of immediacy or
exuberance that can mask his skillful handling of
materials and allow for a more playful encounter.
Gabriel Orozco
(Mexican, b. 1962)
Roiseau 5, 2012
Bamboo branch and bird feathers
Chicago, gift of Leah Joy Zell, 2015.19
Roiseau 5 is a kinetic sculpture similar to other

mobile works in the exhibitionsuch as those by
Alexander Calder and Lee Bontecouyet
original in its use of ephemeral materials. Gabriel
Orozco collected hundreds of bird feathers
and joined them to a bamboo branch in a way
that mirrors internal plant and animal structures,
like the spreading of capillaries or cellular
membranes. Suspended in the air, the wingand leaf-like form gently twists and turns, also
alluding to the ancient Greek story of Icarus,
whose attempt at flight with manmade wings
was illfated. Roiseau 5 elegantly and gracefully
alludes to a familiar motif within Surrealist art:
the human desire to fly.
Ed Paschke
Sunburn, 1970
Oil on canvas
Chicago, gift of Muriel and Albert Newman in
honor of Dennis Adrian, 1982.17
Known for depicting subjects from the fringes of

society, Paschke here presents a jarring, surrealistic scene that combines images from a wide
variety of popular cultural sources, including
Mexican wrestling. In creating his imagery, Paschke rendered first in black and white, and then
added layers of brightly colored glazes, a technique that imbues his canvases with unusual
precision and clarity.
Inspired by fellow School of the Art Institute
of Chicago alumni including Jim Nutt and Gladys
Nilsson, whose work he had seen in the
Hairy Who exhibitions at Chicagos Hyde Park
Art Center, Paschke put together his own group
known as The Nonplussed Some. He is now
known as one of the leading Chicago Imagists,
the unique figurative artists who emerged in the
1960s and 1970s and were influenced by Surrealism and vernacular expressions such as comics
and advertising. He was also a mentor to Jeff
Koons, whose work is on view in this exhibition.
Tony Phillips
(American, b. 1937)
Hour Came Round at Last, 1983
Pastel on paper
Chicago, restricted gift of Ralph I. and Helyn D.
Goldenberg and Illinois Arts Council Purchase
Grant, 1984.12
Jaume Plensa
(Spanish, b. 1955)
Think, Act, Eat, Sleep, 2000
Glass, cotton fabric, and stainless steel
Chicago, gift of the Ruttenberg Foundation,
2010.24.ae
In recent years, Jaume Plensa has gained

notoriety for his large-scale public sculptures
here in Chicago, Crown Fountain in Millennium
Park. The artist continues to make poetic, smaller
sculptural works as well, which speak to our
private, inner lives as individuals. The work presented here, Think, Act, Eat, Sleep, borrows its title
from a quote from British poet and artist
William Blake, who was highly influential on the
Surrealists. In his poem, The Marriage of Heaven
and Hell, Blake writes: Think in the morning.
Act in the noon. Eat in the evening. Sleep in the
night. The sculpture evokes these stanzas with
four suspended glass bulbs, inviting the viewer to
fill their empty voids with the contents of daily life.
Kerig Pope
(American, b. 1935)
Girl in Striped Socks Singing, 1959
Oil on canvas
Chicago, gift of the artist, 2012.12
A loony, leggy figure made of circles and

squiggles demonstrates Kerig Popes concern
with bringing abstract shapes to life. In this
whimsical portrait of an eccentric acquaintance,
the artist drew leafy and ball-like forms, and
limited his pallet to cool blues and greens to
perhaps suggest the nature of the song being
sung. The striped forms that make up the
figures legs are based on the unusual stockings
worn by the individual. The theatricality of
the image is enhanced by the grassy expanse
rendered as a backdrop.
Having attended the School of the Art Institute
of Chicago in the 1950s, Pope was heavily
influenced by the leading Surrealist Matta, who
had been a visiting artist. Although of the
generation dubbed the Monster Roster (including
Leon Golub and June Leaf also in this exhibition), and a colleague of H. C. Westermann,
Pope is more associated with Chicago Imagism
of the 1960s and 1970s because of his brighter
palette and embrace of the vernacular imagery.
In addition to his painting, Pope was a long time
managing art director for Playboy magazine.
Christina Ramberg
Muscular Alternative, 1979
Oil on canvas
Chicago, bequest of Sandra Jorgensen, 1999.25
In a portrayal that disturbingly recasts the

bodys functioning, Christina Ramberg depicted
a corset with outsized perspiration guards that
seem to prop up the armpits. The musculature
on the right follows no known pattern as
the organic forms meld with the clothing and
transition to geometric structures.
Although associated with Chicago Imagism
because she participated with other School of
the Art Institute of Chicago graduates, including
her husband Phil Hanson (on view to the right),
in the False Image exhibitions at the Hyde Park
Art Center, Ramberg did not consider herself
part of a stylistic group. Her surrealist tendencies are particularly strong in works that
explore deep psychological and emotional
feelings about womens bodies such as Muscular
Alternative.
Martin Ramrez
(American, b. Mexico, 18851963)
Two Bandits, c. 1950
Crayon on paper
Chicago, bequest of Ruth S. Nath, 1998.19
Martin Ramrez, a self-taught artist, grew up
in Mexico but spent most of his adult life institutionalized in California mental hospitals.
Diagnosed as a catatonic schizophrenic, Ramirez
rarely spoke but obsessively drew, working on
the floor on sheets of paper that he constructed
out of discarded papers, cigarette packaging,
and paper cups glued together with a homemade paste. In works characterized by repeating lines and unusual perspectives, Ramrez
drew on the emotional and physical landscapes
of his life in Mexico. Men on horses brandishing
guns were a common motif; the horse and rider
suggest Ramrezs pride in his Mexican identity.
The artists who founded Surrealism were great
admirers of primitive art, a catchall term that
was used to describe work by self-taught artists,
the insane and so-called primitive societies.
They cited the raw creativity and direct exploration of the psyche or unconscious that many
of these artists displayed as particularly powerful. Ramrez was a particular favorite of Jim
Nutt and Gladys Nilsson, also on view in this
exhibition, who helped disseminate his work to
the larger art world by arranging exhibitions.
Marcos Raya
(Mexican, b. 1948)
Excerpt from Night Nurse, 1993/96
Acrylic on canvas, cabinet, surgical instruments,
mannequin, and found objects
Chicago, restricted gift of Roy and Mary Cullen,
1997.81
This work, an excerpt from a larger installation,

presents the artists self-portrait in the centrally
placed painting. Marcos Raya lies unconscious
in a hospital bed; the doctor who presumably
attends him is depicted with an incongruous,
happy smile. The yellow wall, reminiscent of a
color that might have been found in an institution, sets off actual medical equipmentsuch
as the old-fashioned green oxygen tankthat
punctuates the installation. Other elements,
however, call up the fantastic. Raya altered a
mannequin, covered the face of a classical
plaster cast with tacks, and otherwise evoked
the distressing state of helplessness and dis
orientation experienced when ailing, whether
physically or mentally.
Raya began his career painting and directing
murals in the near South Side Chicago neighborhood of Pilsen where he has long resided.
His interest in and study of Surrealism began upon
viewing the seminal exhibition Dada, Surrealism,
and their Heritage at New Yorks Museum of
Modern Art in 1968.
Suellen Rocca
(American, b. 1943)
LET HER BE, 1982
Graphite and colored pencil on paper
Chicago, gift of Mrs. E. A. Bergman, 1996.17
Paul Rosin
(American, b. 1958)
Billys Head (from the Voyeur series), 1983
Chicago, restricted gift of Dr. and Mrs. Peter W.
Broido and Illinois Arts Council Purchase Grant,
1984.14
Seymour Rosofsky
Operating Room, 1955
Oil on canvas
Chicago, gift of the Seymour Rosofsky Memorial
Fund and Maremont Corporation, by exchange,
1986.5
In this psychologically penetrating study of

incapacitation, attenuated figures are bound by
the machines that treat them and keep them
alive. Rendered in pale, chalky colors, the dis
quieting scene evokes a deathlike stillness. In his
work of the 1950s, Seymour Rosofsky, who
served in World War II, frequently turned to
the theme of anonymous men confined to
wheelchairs or in hospital settings. Influenced
by the work of Jean Dubuffet (also on view),
which he saw at the Arts Club of Chicago
in 1952, Rosofsky was drawn to the Surrealists
embrace of unfettered imagination.
A lifelong Chicagoan, Rosofsky graduated from
the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and
was considered one of the Monster Roster
so named by a local critic for their grotesque
figuration rendered in somber colors. His strange
often autobiographical narratives also aligned
him firmly with Chicago Imagism as he continued to work into the 1970s.
Barbara Rossi
(American, b. 1940)
Wee Purr, 1972
Acrylic on double Plexiglas, feathers, and
painted wood frame
Collection of Mary Stowell and Jim Streicker
Barbara Rossis organic forms painted on both

sides of a sheet of Plexiglas create what can
be viewed as an abstract composition as well as
a portrait bust. This technique gives a subtle
depth and a light-scattering quality to the paint
that supports the artists aspirations to depict
the spiritual and otherworldly. Rossi utilized an
introspective process, similar to the Surrealist
idea of automatismthe performance of
actions without conscious thought or intention.
As in many of her works, the image emerged
one form at a time from what the artist called
her unconscious being.
Attending the School of the Art Institute of
Chicago in the late 1960s, Rossi was introduced
to and deeply affected by the work of outsider
artists, including Joseph Yoakum (also on view
in this exhibition). Associated with Chicago
Imagism through exhibiting in group shows at
the Hyde Park Art Center, Rossis penchant
for punning titles, as in this work, also align her
with the Chicago school.
Kay Sage
Handle with Care, 1943
Oil on canvas
Private collection
A deep window frame, the arch of a courtyard,

or a symbolic stage proscenium, all these things
apply to the shape on the left in Kay Sages
poignantly titled work. Handle with Care is
both a plea and a warning. Framed by the dark
portal, the delicate draped form is similar to,
but worlds apart, from those of fellow Surrealist
Kurt Seligmann (also on view in the exhibition)
as it stands isolated and vulnerable in the
desolate landscape.
For decades the contributions of women
Surrealists have been downplayed, and although
Sage was one of the group in Paris in the 1930s,
she was better known as Yves Tanguys wife.
Their personal and professional relationship
was intense and fruitful. She admired Tanguys
abstract, dreamlike style, unique among the
Surrealists. At the start of World War II, the
couple relocated to the United States, eventually
settling in Woodbury, Connecticut, where they
had a close friendship with Alexander Calder
and his wife.
Doris Salcedo
(Colombian, b. 1958)
Atrabiliarios, 1993
Shoes, drywall, paint, wood, animal fiber,
and surgical thread
Chicago, gift of Daryl Gerber Stokols and
Jeff Stokols, 2011.51
In a way that recalls traditional Surrealist

practices, Doris Salcedo uses common, readily
available materialsfor instance, shoesin uncommon ways, transforming them through her
art. In Atrabiliarios, worn shoes recovered from
victims of mass violence are encased in niches
embedded into the wall, covered by a layer of
stretched and preserved animal fiber that is
affixed with medical sutures. A signature work
by the artist, the installation addresses the
experience of loss due to political violence, and
the importance of remembering and mourning.
Lucas Samaras
(American, b. Greece, 1936)
Transformation: Knives, 1968
Knives, beads, acrylic, adhesive, wood, pins,
thread, hair, plastic, yarn, razor blades, photograph, Plexiglas, cotton, wire, coral, and plaster
on a Plexiglas base
1974.11
Lucas Samaras fashioned a fantastical array of

knives with common materials that he fre
quently used in the 1960s, including yarns, beads,
and pins. Some seem playful, like the wiggly
yarn-covered form. Others are fantastical, like
the knife fashioned from feathers. A selfportrait decorates the sole knife that points outward. Some of the items retain their form and
utility as knives, whether a utensil or a potential
weapon. This double meaning, as well as the
idea of transformation as set forth by the title,
places this work in the realm of Surrealism.
Perhaps best-known for his manipulated photographic self-portraits, Samaras has worked in
a number of mediums, including a wide range
of sculptural forms.
Paul Sarkisian
(American, b. 1928)
Night with Raping Wave, 1963
Watercolor, paper collage, and asphalt in
wood and glass frame
Chicago, gift of Joseph and Jory Shapiro,
1992.46
In a free mix of time periods and art historical
and popular cultural references, Paul Sarkisian
fashioned a clever collage out of incongruous
elements typical of the Surrealist artists. A clipping of a slice of orange forms the sun. It hovers
over the central image, a stunted Cyclops
whose body is a decorated pot. A vintage photograph of a nude torso lies in a puddle of asphalt
that is used as a ground for the composition.
Born in Chicago, Sarkisian won a scholarship
at age sixteen to study at the School of the Art
Institute of Chicago. Not long after he emerged
from the legendary Los Angeles Ferus Gallery
in the late 1950s, Sarkisian moved through
several stylistic periods, including one dubbed
his Surrealist period, which typically featured
nudes, as in this work.
Joseph Seigenthaler
(American, b. 1959)
The Couple, 1993
Acrylic on ceramic on fiberglass and steel,
fabric, and ottoman
Chicago, restricted gift of Walter F. and
Dr. Mary Pullig Schatz, 1993.12.ae
Hand built from clay and painted in exacting

detail, this work updates ancient myths and
legends of magical transformation and demonic
possession. An imp-like male figure, covered
with skin lesions, reaches out to the young
pregnant woman. Horrified, she watches the
lesions travel down her outstretched arm. Like
Michelangelos Creation of Adam, their fingers
are depicted as not quite touching.
Born and educated in Tennessee, Joseph
Seigenthaler perfected his craft by fashioning
figures for a wax museum. The high degree
of realism he brings to his nonetheless distorted,
fantastical creations make them all the more
disturbing. Trips to Chicago introduced
Seigenthaler to the local Surrealist-influenced
artists, inspiring him to relocate to the city.
Kurt Seligmann
(American, b. Switzerland, 19001962)
Baphomet, 1948
Oil on canvas
Chicago, gift of Joseph and Jory Shapiro,
1992.72
With swirling, drapery-like forms that navigate

a stage set made of boxy steps, Seligmann
created a dynamic composition that draws the
viewer into the strange ritual depicted: a dance
of death as hinted by the title. Baphomet was
originally used to describe an idol or other deity,
whom the Knights Templara wealthy and
powerful Christian military order during medieval timeswere accused of worshiping. Over
time, Baphomet became associated with the
devil, and subsequently was incorporated into
a number of occult and mystical traditions,
which Surrealists, including Seligmann, studied.
Seligmann was in fact the Surrealists expert
on magic, and published a history, The Mirror of
Magic, in 1948.
Seligmann was one of the first of the Surrealists
to relocate from Europe to New York in the
years before the outbreak of World War II, and
was responsible for helping bring many others
of the group to safety in the United States.
Cindy Sherman
(American, b. 1954)
Untitled #188, 1989
Chromogenic development print
Chicago, Gerald S. Elliott Collection, 1995.101
Throughout her career Cindy Sherman has

acknowledged the influence of Surrealism on
her work, particularly fascinated by their forays
into the irrational and use of psychologically
charged imagery. In this photograph, part of
her Disasters series, a blow-up doll and shadowy
human figure appear to be treated as refuse,
cast into a pile of junk. With dramatic lighting
and its use of color gels, the work is simultaneously seductive and repellent, while commenting
on human desire and despair. In this light, the
work of Sherman offers a shifting and fragmented portrayal of the self and the construction of
human identity.
Buzz Spector
(American, b. 1948)
Mallarm, 198788
Wooden curio cabinet, gold leaf on glass,
book, and shell
Chicago, restricted gift of LaSalle Bank,
1997.72.ac
Buzz Spector was a poet before turning to the
visual arts, and this foundation in language and
the book form pervades much of his artistic
production. This sculpture as cabinet of curiosities
refers to the work of French poet Stphane
Mallarm through both its title and use of the excerpted text from Mallarms poem Salut (1893),
which Spector has lettered in the original French
in gold leaf. Spector provided this translation:
Solitude, reef, star
To that no matter which worth
The white concern of our sail.
Mallarm exerted a huge influence on the avantgarde art movements of the early twentieth
centuryespecially Surrealism, with its own roots
in literature. The cabinet form of the sculpture
also echoes Surrealist vessels that contain the
dreams, desires, and fears of humanity.
Evelyn Statsinger
(American, b. 1927)
Large Collage #6, 1982
Drawing, photogram, photocopies, and balsa
wood
Chicago, restricted gift of Mr. and Mrs. Martin E.
Zimmerman, Mr. and Mrs. Richard A. Lenon,
and Illinois Arts Council Purchase Grant, 1984.11
For Large Collage #6, Evelyn Statsinger combines
a number of art-making strategiessuch as
drawing, photograms, and printing techniques
to produce a collage that is at once compartmentalized and interconnected. The images of
shells repeat across different panels, suggesting
both a personal and cosmological investigation:
the spiral on many of the shells points to the
motion of time, while also conjuring the motion
of spiral galaxies.
Statsinger is a longtime resident of Chicago and
was deeply influenced by the influx of Surrealist
art, especially during the formative years of her
education at the School of the Art Institute of
Chicago. She is also associated with the Chicago
Imagists, a moniker given to an artist group that
formed in the 1960s, known for creating colorful
and distorted figurative art.
Mary Stoppert
(American, b. 1941)
Mano Lirio, 1983
Wood, enamel, and lacquer
Chicago, restricted gift of Mr. and Mrs. Martin E.
Zimmerman, Phyllis Kind Gallery, and Illinois Arts
Council Purchase Grant, 1984.17
Mary Stoppert
(American, b. 1941)
Velo Hand, 1983
Wood, enamel, and lacquer
Chicago, gift of Alyce and Edwin DeCosta and
Phyllis Kind Gallery, 1984.20
Yves Tanguy
(American, b. France, 19001955)
Untitled (The Fluidity of Time), 1930
Oil on canvas
Unlike most of his fellow Surrealist painters,
Yves Tanguy is noted for his nonrepresentational
subjects. In his work, color and form are used to
create amoeba-like shapes that suggest human
figures that remain abstract. Here, these forms
are presented in an alien landscape, between
reality and a dreamlike state. The subtitle for this
work, The Fluidity of Time, is echoed in the
painterly handling of the oil medium, which
creates a fluid trace across the canvass surface.
Transfixed with notions of time and space, as
well as Freuds exploration of the unconscious,
Tanguy tended to depict the human psyche
rather than symbolic forms meant to be decoded.
An original member of the Surrealist group,
Tanguy moved to the United States where he
met his wifeAmerican painter Kay Sage, also
presented in this exhibitionafter he fled Europe
at the onset of World War II. The couple lived
in Connecticut near their close friend Alexander
Calder, with whom they shared an interest in
abstraction.
Dorothea Tanning
Angelic Pleasures, 1943
Oil on canvas
Private collection
Dorothea Tanning
Sleeping Nude, 1954
Oil on canvas
Chicago, gift of anonymous donor, 1984.23
Dorothea Tanning was particularly focused

on recording the female experience in her art,
as can be seen in this depiction of the erotic,
disconcerting nature of dreaming. The sleeping
womans form fragments and joins a jumble
of shapes that seem to emanate from her head.
Born and educated in Chicago, Tanning discovered Surrealism at the monumental exhibition
Fantastic Art, Dada and Surrealism at the Museum
of Modern Art, New York, in 1936. She
eventually met pioneering gallery owner Julian
Levy, around whom many of the Surrealists,
having fled Europe before the outbreak of
World War II, had gathered in New York.
Despite her unusual path to Surrealism, she was
accepted by the expatriates, and significantly,
she became involved with Max Ernst, who
had left Leonora Carrington (both are in this
exhibition) behind in Spain and in New York
taken up with arts patroness Peggy Guggenheim.
Tanning and Ernst were married in 1946.
Daryl Trivieri
(American, b. 1956)
Nebula of Creative Desire, 1986
Gouache and acrylic on paper
Chicago, gift of Edward Minieka in memory of
Martin Arons, 1990.15
Remedios Varo
(Mexican, b. Spain, 19101963)
Exploracin de las fuentes del Ro Orinoco
(Exploration of the sources of the Orinoco River),
1959
Oil on canvas
Private collection
Remedios Varos father was a hydraulic engineer

and as a child, she accompanied him on jobs,
experiences that most likely inform this delicate
and haunting painting. The mighty Orinoco River,
South Americas second-longest, is depicted as
arising from a glass chalice, a choice most likely
inspired by the artists Catholic upbringing. This
mystical source among a grove of cypress trees
is discovered by a genteel lady explorer, whose
hat metamorphoses into a cape and then forms
the boat in which she primly sits.
Varo received art training in her native country
and developed an early interest in Surrealism,
which she learned about through the work of
her countryman Salvador Dal. The Spanish Civil
War caused Varo to flee to Paris in 1937, where
she became an integral part of the Parisian
Surrealist group. She married the Surrealist poet
Benjamin Pret, a key figure in the movement
who promoted the idea of automatismthe performance of actions without conscious thought
or intention. Forced into exile again during the
German occupation of France, she relocated to
Mexico City in 1941, where fellow exile Leonora
Carrington, whose work is also on view, was
Ken Warneke
(American, b. 1958)
The Tyranny of Everyday Life, 1990
Oil and acrylic on Masonite
Chicago, gift of Mr. and Mrs. M. A. Lipschultz,
Mr. and Mrs. E. A. Bergman, Nathan Cummings,
Grace and Edwin Hokin, and Mr. and Mrs.
Richard L. Feigen by exchange, 1991.24
H. C. Westermann
He Whore, 1957
Plywood, vermillion, oak, maple, walnut, fir,
birch, mirror, paint, chromium-plated brass, cork,
rope, and US dimes
He-Whore is unabashed in its anxiety about

male sexuality; a tiny figure has been literally
flushed down the toilet in the works
white-painted interior. A companion piece to
a similar laminated wood sculpture that shows
a pregnant female form, He Whore was made
while H. C. Westermann was living in Chicago
and interacting with artists of the Monster
Rosterso named by a local critic for their
grotesque figuration rendered in somber colors
with whom he was loosely associated. This was
a turbulent time in Westermanns life; he was
involved in a new relationship after the
dissolution of his marriage. Los Angelesborn,
Chicago-educated, Westermann demonstrated
his respect for traditional wood crafting in
solidly built and meticulously finished works such
as this early sculpture.
A unique figure in American art, Westermann
was not directly indebted to Surrealism. But
as art historian Robert Storr has written, he
naturalized surrealism and translated its often
effete vocabulary into a workmanlike vernacu-
lar. Westermanns emphasis on visual puns,

cultural provocation, and a deep exploration of
human psychology through the use of figuration
further tie him to the movement.
H. C. Westermann
The Rascette, 1961
Painted wood
Rascette is a term used in palm reading, or
chiromancy, an ancient mystic art that saw a
revival in late-nineteenth century Europe. Palm
reading was of great interest to the Surrealists,
especially through the poet Robert Desnos,
one of the inner circle who practiced the ancient
art. Specifically the rascette is the line that
runs closely parallel to the Line of Life, and can
have attributes that signal success and fortune.
This guide to the traditional lines and areas of
the palm is incised on a replica of H. C.
Westermanns own hand, made clear by the
inclusion of the anchor which was essentially
Westermanns logo. During the period this work
was made, Westermann often signed letters to
his wife the Swami, further signaling his interest in the occult.
Margaret Wharton
(American, b. 1943)
Garden Chair, 1978
Painted wood chair, epoxy, reeds, staples,
and wood dowels
Collection of Chicago Artists, 1991.73.aq
John Wilde
Homage to Alfred Rethal [sic], 1987
Oil on canvas
Chicago, restricted gift of Richard Florsheim Art
Fund and gift of Perimeter Gallery, 1994.10
Alfred Rethel was a German painter known

for history paintings that seethed with strange
imagery, manifestations of the mental illness that
eventually enveloped him. This work features
a direct quote of Rethels woodcut, Death the
Avenger, 1848, in which a skeleton appears
at a masked ball, scraping daintily like a violinist
upon two human bones. While John Wilde
faithfully reproduced Rethels skeleton, he gave
him a robe of scarlet, calling to mind the ecclesiastical garb of Catholic clergy. The checkered
floor implies a chessboard, or the playing out of
fate on the stage of life, as a diminutive dancing
couple embraces in the depths of the vast room.
Although based in Madison, Wisconsin, Wilde
frequented the Chicago home of Gertrude
Abercrombie, also on view in this exhibition.
They shared an interest, guided by Surrealism,
in exploring their biographies through fantastical
depictions that plumbed their psychological states.
Anne Wilson
(American, b. 1949)
Devour, 1993
Hair and thread on cloth
Chicago, gift of Ruth P. Horwich, 2000.19
A leading Chicago figure working in fiber arts,

Anne Wilson draws on one of the Surrealists
frequent motifs: human hair. In fact, much of
the artists production to date has involved the
stitching or sewing of hair at various scales
along with the manipulation of other fiber-based
materialsas is the case in the work on view
here. Devour takes on a slightly more sinister
quality, as the hair is amassed to such a degree
that it appears to grow forth and consume
much of the works surface. In line with other
Surrealist tendencies, this work utilizes commonplace materials in an unsettling way.
Donald Roller Wilson

(American, b. 1938)
The Transformation of Helens Brother Larry, 1980
Oil on canvas
Chicago, gift of Michael T. and Ann M. Judd,
1985.30
Presented as if on a stage framed by curtains,

this work shows an inexplicable, dreamlike
tableau. Shadows of dolls loom on either side of
the masked figure, who seems to be posing
within a latter-day Frankensteins laboratory.
By constructing a detailed set in his studio,
Donald Roller Wilson directed a scene that is an
illustratation in a longer, ongoing narrative.
Painted in a classical Renaissance technique
featuring a high degree of realism and finish and
presented in elaborate, individually designed
frames, Wilsons paintings present rich fantasy
worlds that align this Arkansas-based artists
work with Surrealism. For a number of years
Wilson worked with musician Frank Zappa,
who used his paintings as cover art for some of
his albums.
Francesca Woodman
Right to left:
Boulder, Colorado, 19721975, 1972/75
From Angel Series, Roma, September, 1977, 1977
House #4, Providence, Rhode Island, 19751976,
1975/76
Chicago, gift from The Howard and Donna Stone
Collection, 2002.70, 2002.75, and 2002.71
Francesca Woodman used a long exposure so

that her moving body would appear blurred in
this photograph, as if a ghost emerging from
the decay of the abandoned house. A sense of
the uncanny and the askew composition further
support the unworldly image, and reflect the
Surrealists beliefs that alternative realities hover
alongside everyday experience.
Within settings that seem throwbacks to earlier
times, as they reveal few contemporary markers,
Woodman enacted rituals of self-discovery,
sometimes using models, often photographing
herself. In this case she worked in an abandoned
house in Providence, where she attended the
Rhode Island School of Design. Woodman spent
time in Italy, and was deeply influenced by the
work of the Surrealists. She was only 22 when,
suffering from depression, she committed suicide.
These works were generously given to the MCA

by Howard and Donna Stone. The MCA
remembers Howard (19302015) with fondness
and gratitude.
Joseph Yoakum
Mt. Thabor near Nazareth, Galilee East Asia, 1968
Andes Mt. Range, La Paz Bolivia, 1967
Both are colored pencil and ink on paper
Chicago, bequest of Sandra Jorgensen, 1999.23
and 1999.22
Joseph Yoakums art expresses the interconnectedness of the world through his unique depiction
of great mountains that seem to expand and
grow, even as they are punctuated by groves of
trees, bodies of water, and rivulets. His remarkable vision of landscape was fueled by travels
during his youth and illustrations in the National
Geographic magazine.
In his old age, Yoakum began to make landscape
drawings under what he called the force of
a dream that delivered a message from God,
and described these works as a spiritual
unfoldment. Discovered by the painters Christina
Ramberg and Phil Hanson, whose works are
also on view in this exhibition, and others of their
circle, the elderly artist was soon adopted as
a fellow traveler. They visited him in his South
Side home, collected his work, and arranged for
exhibitions.
Claire Zeisler
Fragments and Dashes, 197880
Beads, chamois, cotton, feather, raw wool,
shells, stones, wood, and Plexiglas vitrine
Chicago, restricted gift in honor of the artists
birthday, 1983.36
Fragments and Dashes is composed of numerous
small-scale elements including wrapped wooden
prayer sticks, stones enclosed in web-like stitching, and delicately finished pieces of chamois.
One of the artists more intimate works, the
piece reflects Claire Zeislers interest in PreColumbian and Peruvian textiles, which she
collected along with major Surrealist paintings.
Although she began her interest in art as a
collector, Zeisler studied art-making strategies
from non-Western societies early on in her
career, as a student of Bauhaus artists Alexander
Archipenko and Lszl Moholy-Nagy at the
Institute of Design in Chicago. Her delicate and
worshipful treatment of common objects is
also seen in work of the more traditional female
Surrealists, particularly Remedios Varo (also on
view in this exhibition).
Mary Lou Zelazny

(American, b. 1956)
Sea Walker, 1986
Oil, collage, and wax on board
a close friend and where she painted most of

her best-known works.

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GLOSSARY OF COMMON

SYMBOLS, THEMES, AND

ANGELS, BIRDS, AND

MYTH AND LEGEND

This selection of four paintings by Gertrude

the shape of a cross, alludes to Abercrombies

One of a number of Enrico Bajs collages that

Balthus (Count Balthazar Klossowski de Rola)

In a familiar motif for the artist, this painting

A collection of cast-off dolls, this work animates

Hans Bellmer was conversant with the

system of primary, collectively shared images.

Victor Brauners two paintings in this exhibition

Wearing angel wings but hardly presenting

When asked about this work, the artist identified

neighbor, Surrealist collector and MCA benefactor Joseph Shapiro.

Saint Clair Cemin

In this work, Hermes, the winged messenger god

Willie Cole transforms discarded domestic

Described as a self-portrait by the artist, this

Although more simple than many of Joseph

As told by Homer in the ancient Greek epic The

Jean Dubuffet shared the Surrealists interest

Max Ernsts alter ego in his paintings was a bird

Jess (Jess Collins)

From a suite on the four seasons, this inventively

The work of Wifredo Lam is marked by his

Ellen Lanyon distinguished herself through a

June Leaf depicts her stand-in, Character, in

and young adulthood.

In this photograph, the disembodied eye,

For Ren Magritte, as for many other Surrealist

Marisol (Marisol Escobar)

Matta (Roberto Matta Echaurren)

Matta (Roberto Matta Echaurren)

This work by the Chilean-born artist Matta

Thats my death mask youre wearing summons

Intertwined to form a tapestry of color and

This untitled work collages together different

Painted on the underside of a clear plastic

Roiseau 5 is a kinetic sculpture similar to other

Known for depicting subjects from the fringes of

In recent years, Jaume Plensa has gained

A loony, leggy figure made of circles and

In a portrayal that disturbingly recasts the

This work, an excerpt from a larger installation,

In this psychologically penetrating study of

Barbara Rossis organic forms painted on both

A deep window frame, the arch of a courtyard,

In a way that recalls traditional Surrealist

Lucas Samaras fashioned a fantastical array of

Hand built from clay and painted in exacting

With swirling, drapery-like forms that navigate

Throughout her career Cindy Sherman has

Dorothea Tanning was particularly focused

Remedios Varos father was a hydraulic engineer

He-Whore is unabashed in its anxiety about

lar. Westermanns emphasis on visual puns,

Alfred Rethel was a German painter known