Exhibition “DALÍ UNIVERSE” Now Opened

“Dalí Universe” is the new temporary exhibition at the Atkinson Museum, at WOW, and came to reveal more details about the life and work of Salvador Dalí. It has already opened to the public and will be on display until October 31st. The inauguration ceremony was attended by several authorities on Dalí, such as Nicolas Descharnes.

The cultural district of Gaia presents a new exhibition. This time, it’s the “Dalí Universe” that has opened to the public at the Atkinson Museum. It is an exhibition that presents the life and work of one of the most emblematic artists of the twentieth century.

The origins, the shift to surrealism, the American dream, the foray into advertising, the secret conversion to Catholicism, the reinterpretation of Goya, the Walt Disney film: all in a fascinating and irreverent trajectory to visit at the Atkinson Museum.

The exhibition takes the visitor on an unprecedented journey through the Spanish surrealist and invites them on a route through the multifaceted universe of one of the greatest geniuses of art, through drawings, sketches, paintings, sculptures and commercial and advertising works.

Altogether, there are more than 200 pieces, including a selection of photographs by Robert Descharnes, French photographer and friend of Dalí, taken between 1955 and 1985, which offer a rare glimpse into the artist’s personal life, in intimate moments and in his family environment. The photographer’s son, Nicolas Descharnes, who currently owns his father’s entire estate and is considered an expert on Dalí, was present at the opening of the exhibition. He defined Dalí as “genetically Spanish, intellectually French, aesthetically Italian and commercially American” and reinforced the importance of the photographic work exhibited here: “through my father’s photographs, the memory of this genius can be kept alive“.

 

The exhibition, which appears in the year that marks the centenary of surrealism, has yet another intriguing work that deserved to be highlighted at the time of the inauguration. “Vision of Hell in Fatima” has a numbered replica in this exhibition at WOW and unveils Dalí’s connection to Portugal and his almost unknown Catholic religiosity. Carlos Evaristo, an expert in sacred iconography, explained the work and revealed that it was “a commission made to Dalí, in 1959, to represent the third secret of Fatima“. Dalí took about three years to finish the painting and in this context “he visited Fatima, met with Sister Lúcia and converted to Catholicism, so much so that he ended up returning to the Church the money he had received for the work“. To finish the eccentricity surrounding this painting, it is also added that “the work remained, unknown, for almost three decades under a nun’s mattress“.

Salvador Dalí, born in 1904 in Figueres, in northeastern Spain, has become a global personality with a unique presence and unmistakable style. “This exhibition is an unmissable opportunity to explore the legacy of one of the most iconic artists of the twentieth century and discover the man behind the myth. It is a collection that reveals the versatility of the Atkinson Museum, which aims to bring to Porto remarkable exhibitions of an international nature, touching the most diverse spectrums of art, from classical to contemporary“, says Adrian Bridge, general director of the Fladgate Partnership group, where the cultural district is located.

The exhibition “Dalí Universe” has the collaboration of Nicolas Descharnes and Carlos Evaristo, from the Oureana Foundation. The curatorship was in charge of Andreia Esteves, responsible for the Atkinson Museum and for WOW’s international partnerships.

• “Dalí Universe” is open until October 31 and can be visited daily, from 10 am to 7 pm, with tickets at €15 (children for half price).

 

 

About WOW 

WOW is the new cultural block of Greater Porto and is located in the historic center of the city, Vila Nova de Gaia. It is born from the renovated Port Wine cellars, in a project that has been classified as of Potential National Interest (PIN). It has a gross area of 55,000 square meters and includes a total of seven museums, twelve restaurants and cafes, shops, a Wine School, an exhibition space and several event spaces. Inaugurated in 2020, WOW celebrates the culture, gastronomy, history and industries of the North region and Portugal. For more information go to wow.pt