Scoop: Surrealism's Revival

Our monthly breakdown of a hot art world topic

I am the first to dispel the idea that any flavor of art which has cemented itself into culture and history goes in and out of vogue. I hate the idea of trends when it comes to art and firmly believe good art is good art no matter the time period, internet approval, or wider cultural preferences of a given moment. So to say Surrealism, which emerged onto the scene in a big way after WWI, ever went away, would be doing the movement a disservice. What I will say, is that in recent years, I’ve noticed more and more renewed interest into the genre which upon personal discovery, rocked my world and made me fall head over heels into the industry I now occupy. 2024 happens to mark the recognized 100 year anniversary of Surrealism’s establishment, so what better time than now to dig a little deeper into the current revival.

What is Surrealism
To start, a brief explanation on what we are discussing here (as best I can for not being an officially recognized art historian). I’ve always thought of Surrealism as more of a feeling than a categorical definer. Though impossible to land on one concise definition, you can think of Surrealism as anything that bends the world we recognize into something a bit strange and unexpected, and yet, intriguing, even beautiful.