Contemporary Figurative Surrealism

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Traditional Surrealism, still influential among contemporary artists, is considered to come in two movements, visual automatism, a complete spontaneity of uninhibited expression, and illusionistic surrealism, in which more precision is used. The six artists in the exhibit, Billy Colbert (Baltimore) Ian Jehle, (Germany) Jenny Laden (New York), Gowri Savoor, (U.K.) David Fox (U.K.) and Lorene Taurerewa (New Zealand), coming almost a century later, incorporate elements from both surrealist movements but have some distinct differences from traditional surrealism in intent, concerns and media.

Like the traditional surrealists, the artists presented in Contemporary Figurative Surrealism incorporate elements of unexpected juxtapositions and absurd logic within their work. What is more, a concern for and an aim to affect human experience on a personal, cultural, social, and political level are present. Utilizing imagery of the human form is one of the most direct ways to achieve this. The traditional surrealists knew this and many of their members often used figurative imagery to express the Freudian theory of the unconscious. Regardless of anti-figuration sentiments in modernism and postmodernism, the human form still remains to be of supreme significance in art because it is the vessel of our existence and thus can more directly address the human condition.

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