Salvador Dalí was not only a painter, he was a multi faceted artist in every sense of the word. He was widely recognised as sculptor, writer, illustrator, filmmaker, jewellery designer and more.
As he said: "Painting is an infinitely minute part of my personality".
One major aspect of Dalí’s complete lifework is the creation of a collection of bronze museum sculptures.
The passion and overwhelming desire to express himself sculpturally lasted throughout his entire life span, dating from 1934 until 1987. Dalí was fascinated by this form of transformation and created original maquettes and designs to be made into surreal sculptures and objects. In this way, Dalí’s creative genius manifests into three-dimensionality, bringing form to sculptures which are amongst the most famous and beloved iconographic images created by Dalí during his lifetime.
Soft watches, drawers, and many other surrealist images....
Dalí used certain items and events from his childhood which appear recurrently in his work as icons, which are in fact rich in emotional meaning. These items embody some of Dalí’s strongest beliefs; his obsession with time, as depicted in his notorious 1931 painting The Persistence of Memory, is also present in his sculptures Profile of Time and Nobility of Time; his fascination with beauty and the female form can be seen in the Space Venus and the Woman Aflame sculptures; the crutch, another familiar motif in Dalí’s work symbolising support and stability which features in Alice in Wonderland and Snail and the Angel.
Over the past thirty years, these sculptures have toured over one hundred prestigious museums and locations and have been seen by more than twelve million people. This extraordinary collection brings to light a previously unknown aspect of Dalí’s work, allowing sculpture to take on a more important role.
Inspired by his most famous paintings, Dalí’s bronze sculptures represent a significant aspect of three dimensional surrealism and bear witness to the expressive force of his surrealistic iconographic images.