Surrealism

Surrealism emerged as one of the most popular movement in visual art and literature. The movement was founded by the port Andre Breton in Paris in 1924. The term ‘ Surrealist’ suggesting ‘beyond reality’ was coined by the French avant-garde poet ‘Guilaume Apollinaire’ in the preface to a play performed in 1917.

The intent of surrealism was to liberate thought, language and human experience from the oppressive boundaries of rationalism. During 1920s, Visual artists continued exploring surrealist concepts in art, obtaining complete creative freedom. The artists of that time experimented with a new mode of expression called- automatic writing or automatism, which sought to release the unbridled imagination of the subconscious.

Since its inception, the ideas and art associated with Surrealism have been disseminated, embraced and re-imagined through international networks of exchange and collaboration. Surrealism's core ideas and themes have been adapted and deemed relevant to different historical, geographical and cultural contexts, enabling it to be expressed through plural voices.

However wide the influence of surrealist concerns has been on artists across the world, certain artists who have been assimilated to the movement have always refused to be defined as Surrealists.