The influential Spanish Surrealist artist Salvador Dalí is known not only for paintings like The Persistence of Memory and for his collaborations with filmmakers like Hitchcock and Buñuel, but also for his eccentric behavior and appearance (such as his trademark upturned mustache). Dalí can hardly be said to be all style and no substance, however; the artist had a long and prolific career involving work in many different media. This exhibition at Mimar Sinan University’s Tophane-i Amire Kültür ve Sanat Merkezi consists of a series of works with which viewers may be less familiar: Dalí’s Divine Comedy prints, and two series of color lithographs: “Memories of Surrealism,” and the “Gala” series.

Dalí’s illustrations to the three parts of Dante’s Divine Comedy were made in the late 50s and early 60s, as part of a project (later abandoned by the Italian government) to honor the 700th anniversary of the poet’s birth. Dalí was not the first artist to undertake this task (Gustave Doré had done so a century earlier), but his surrealist style was undoubtedly well-suited to the supernatural, often gruesome subject matter of Dante’s epic.

The second part of the exhibit, “Memories of Surrealism,” contains a series of late-career color lithographs in classic Daliesque style, featuring many of the symbols and motifs cropping up in his artwork. The same year, 1971, saw the completion of another series of lithographs by Dalí, the “Gala” Series, which takes surrealism to the dining table.

Dalí aficionados should not miss this fascinating selection of some of the artist’s most accomplished (if lesser-known) work.   

When: December 23 – February 26, 10:00 AM – 7:00 PM

How much: From the venue:  10 TL; 5 TL (students). From Biletix:  12 TL; 7 TL (students).