The most extensive private collection of Salvador Dali’s original works will be displayed for the first time in Bucharest between December 13, 2023, and September 1, 2024 (prolonged by the organizers). The exhibition „The Universe of Salvador Dalí” is organized for the Bucharest City Hall by ARCUB – the Cultural Center of the Municipality of Bucharest, in partnership with HADRAN Events.
The Salvador Dali collection presents 170 works – sculptures, graphics, engravings, lithographs, gold miniatures, rubies, diamonds, emeralds, sapphires and glass, and surreal furniture that illustrates the genius of the extravagant Salvador Dalí.
The exhibited objects are part of the most important private collection containing works signed by Salvador Dalí, belonging to the renowned art collector Beniamino Levi. Beniamino Levi met the artist personally in the 1960s and commissioned him a series of bronze sculptures inspired by the best-known motifs and themes of the surrealist imaginary. As a result of the close relationship with the master of surrealism, Beniamino Levi being his agent, the private collection „Dalí’s Universe” has priceless value and contains the most original works of the famous Spanish artist in Europe.
„My art is one of the many reflections of what I do, write, think.” Salvador Dalí
The „Salvador Dalí Universe” exhibition at ARCUB represents a unique opportunity for the Romanian public to explore the versatility and surrealist imagination of the famous Catalan artist through a selection of original creations covering different means of artistic expression, from graphics, miniatures from gold, rubies, diamonds, emeralds, sapphires and glass and even furniture design. Among the most famous exhibits that will be able to be admired for five months, at ARCUB – Gabroveni Inn, we mention sculptures in bronze and inlaid with precious stones (diamonds, rubies, emeralds, sapphires) such as Dance of Time – the famous melted watches, the unmistakable brand of Dalí’s creation, elephants with oversized legs, Dalinian Dancer, whose rhythms denote Dalí’s homage to flamenco and his native lands, Space Venus, one of the centrepieces of the exhibition that illustrates three of Dalí’s favourite motifs: the clock, the ants and the egg, Alice in Wonderland, Dalí’s favourite character to represent the bridge to the realm of dreams, the Rose-Headed Woman, symbol of pure feminine beauty, of ethereal youth.
The „Universe of Salvador Dalí” at ARCUB also includes glass sculptures created in collaboration with the famous Daum crystal factory in France. This material for Dalí represented an ideal environment for the „expression of metamorphosis,” namely his surrealist perception of reality. Sculptures such as the Venus with Drawers and the Chippendale Rhinoceros capture the essence of liquid, soft matter and its mysterious transformation into hard material.
The gold miniatures on display denote Dalí’s source of inspiration from the jewels at the court of Louis XIV, even imitating his coins. The exhibition also reveals Salvador Dalí as an illustrator, exploring themes such as those that emphasize fantasy, dreams and distorted elements, and classic literary themes found in Much Ado About Shakespeare. Among the exhibits that will cover the entire exhibition space ARCUB – Hanul Gabroveni will be the famous sofa in the shape of Mae West’s lips, which reminds us of the versatility of Salvador Dalí and the unique way in which he transposed his sources of inspiration into his art.
Illustrating the variety of themes and symbols that make up the distinct universe of Salvador Dalí’s creation, from elephants, rhinoceroses, and fluid clocks that defy the hardness of matter to butterflies, angels, femininity and sexuality, the exhibition provides an overview of the various stages of his career DalÍ, highlighting his influences and experiments, as well as his evolution as an artist. The event organized by ARCUB offers visitors the chance to lose themselves in the captivating universe of Salvador Dalí, where reality and dream intertwine, a unique opportunity to travel into the universe of a genius and experience a variety of artistic forms that define the unmistakable imprint of this one.
The „World of Salvador Dalí” exhibition also allows the public to get to know the works of Salvador Dalí through virtual reality. The VR experience will allow visitors to discover hidden details of the Spanish artist’s creations in a new dimension and will transform the visit into an interactive journey into Salvador Dalí’s trademark surrealist imagination.
Exhibition schedule
The „Universe of Salvador Dalí” exhibition at ARCUB – Gabroveni Inn will be able to be visited between December 13, 2023, and September 1, 2024, from Monday to Sunday, between 10:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m.
Event organized by the Capital City Hall, through ARCUB – Cultural Center of the City of Bucharest, in partnership with HADRAN Events.
The genius of Salvador Dalí
The iconic figure of the Surrealist movement, Salvador Dalí, was born on May 11, 1904, in Figueres, Spain. Full name Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí Domenech, he was the second son of Salvador Dalí Cusi and Felipe Domenech Ferres, a fact that will mark his whole life; his parents gave him the name of his older brother, who died at a young age, and himself considering himself „a reincarnation” of it.
Salvador discovered his passion for painting as a child when he tried to paint on cardboard boxes received from his aunt. The parents noticed their son’s artistic inclinations and, one summer, sent him to Ramon Pichot, an impressionist painter who was a family friend and connected to Pablo Picasso.
Picasso decisively influenced the young Dalí’s destiny, convincing his parents to let him take the San Fernando Academy of Arts exam in Madrid. At 17, he was admitted to the Academy, where he studied painting. Following repeated protests against the teaching system, Dalí was expelled. Influenced by Impressionism and the Renaissance masters, he became increasingly attracted to Cubism and avant-garde movements. He approached Surrealism in the late 1920s and joined the Surrealist group in 1929, soon becoming one of its leading exponents. In the same year, 1929, Dalí met Gala Diaconov, the wife of the poet Paul Eluard, who would later become his wife and source of inspiration.
Dalí lived in France during the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) before leaving for the United States in 1940, where he enjoyed enormous success. He returned to Spain in 1948, where he announced his return to the Catholic faith and developed his „nuclear mysticism” style based on his interest in classicism, mysticism and scientific discoveries. Salvador Dalí died on January 23, 1989, in Figueres, where he was born.
Salvador Dalí’s artistic repertoire included painting, film, sculpture, design and photography, sometimes collaborating with other artists. He also wrote fiction, poetry, autobiography, essays and criticism. Major themes in his work include dreams, the subconscious, sexuality, religion, science, and his closest personal relationships.
One of his most famous works, The Persistence of Memory, was completed in August 1931 and symbolizes what Surrealist painting meant. Salvador Dalí became one of the leading members of the Surrealist movement and collaborated with other artists such as André Breton and Luis Buñuel. In collaboration with Buñuel, he wrote screenplays for experimental films such as „The Andalusian Dog” (1929) and „The Golden Age” (1930), which brought surrealism to the world of cinema.
To the dismay of those who highly valued his work and the irritation of his critics, his eccentric and ostentatious public behaviour often attracted more attention than his creations. His life and work significantly influenced other surrealists, pop art artists and contemporaries such as Jeff Koons and Damien Hirst.
