The Surreal World of Enrico Donati

Jump to

Enrico Donati (b. 1909) is perhaps the last living Surrealist artist closely associated with the movement’s acknowledged leader, André Breton. He was a key figure in the community of European expatriate artists in World War II–era New York. This exhibition recreates the extraordinary assemblage of objects in the artist’s New York studio. Like a 17th-century Wunderkammer (wonder room), or Kunstkammer (art room), which juxtaposed objects from the realms of nature and culture, this installation will include the artist’s Surrealist paintings and sculptures, juxtaposed with Oceanic, Native American, and African objects, as well as fossils and other natural curiosities. A recent FAMSF acquisition, Fist (1946), is prominently featured. Donati’s studio has served as a fertile source of inspiration for his artworks and provides a striking visual metaphor for the Surrealist conception of the realms of conscious and unconscious thought.

Sponsors

Special thanks to Rowland Weinstein and the Weinstein Gallery for their support of this exhibition.

Currently on view