DYNATON : Surrealism on the outer edges
GORDON ONSLOW FORD
The Great Haunts, 1950
Casein on board
51.25 x 99 in / 130.2 x 251.5 cm
Image courtesy of Château Shatto
dynaton:
convocation of radiant beings
curated by laura witcomb
at Château Shatto, LOS ANGELES
Surrealism was born out of the Dada period in Paris, France. Most people know the members to be André Breton (their bombastic self appointed leader), Salvador Dali, René Magritte, Max Ernst, photographer Man Ray, poet Paul Éluard, and of course filmmaker Luis Buñuel, who made the incomparable Un Chien Andalou. However, in the 1930s and 40s escaping the war, a group of lesser known, but no less impressive surrealist artists left France and set about continuing their exploration of the outer limits of Surrealism in Northern California.
Dynaton means “The Possible”
WOLFGANG PAALEN
D e u x T e t e s I I , 1935
Oil and tempera on canvas
37.75 x 50.6 in / 95.9 x 128.5 cm
Image courtesy of Château Shatto
The superb museum quality show Dynaton:Convocation of Radiant Beings at Château Shatto, in Los Angeles curated by Laura Witcomb is full of surprises. Dipping into a wealth of archives and research materials, the exhibition revives an important moment in American art history.
Founded by Wolfgang Paalen and Gordon Onslow Ford, the group broke with André Breton, choosing instead to tap into mysticism, science and cosmology. The surrealists refused to be labeled a movement, although through today’s eyes, it’s hard not to see them in that light. They share a desire to find the invisible in life, the quest to understand metaphysics. This exhibition is a recreation (with some additional complimentary pieces) that replicates the initial 1951 Dynaton exhibition in San Francisco. It feels like a tremendous feat that the vast array of paintings have been brought back together. It gives insight into how artists connect with each other and it is as if they have tapped into the very fabric of the universe in their quest.
Dynaton, 1951
Installation view
San Francisco Museum of Art
Pictured left to right: Gordon Onslow Ford, Wolfgang Paalen, Lee Mullican
Image from Château Shatto. Courtesy of the Gordon Onslow Ford Archive.
One fascinating aspect of their work was their deep understanding of the value of Indigenous cosmologies. Something that is of great importance in the art world today. It’s also pretty clear that this group of exiled artists had a profound effect on American artists such as Motherwell, Gorky, Rothko and Pollock, all who came within their orbit whether through lectures or the publication Dyn.
LEE MULLICAN
Detail from The Dust Bowl, Amiable, 1948
Oil on canvas
19.75 x 29.75 in / 50.2 x 75.6 cm
The Dyn journal created by Wolfgang Paalen helped to further stir the pot of ideas. The underrated importance of this group’s philosophies and exploration becomes clearer the longer time is spent in the presence of the artwork. And their deep connection to each other is palpable, it is like stepping into the hive mind of a collective on the outer rims of the human psyche. You don’t need to understand it to feel it.
HARRY PARTCH
Kithra I, 1938-43
Musical instrument
76 x 46 x 16 in / 193 x 116.8 x 40.6 cm
Image courtesy of Château Shatto
Château Shatto, in active collaboration with the Lucid Art Foundation, revisits Dynaton and expands on Wolfgang Paalen’s “Farewell to Surrealism”, the 1951 San Francisco Museum of Art presentation of Gordon Onslow Ford, Wolfgang Paalen, Lee Mullican, and the philosophical writings of Jacqueline Johnson. Also featured are artists, Luchita Hurtado, Jeanne Reynal, Alice Rahon, Harry Partch and others, all equally important to the success of Dynaton.
LEONORA CARRINGTON
Mouse take heed..., n.d. (c. 1940s)
Cut paper and thread on paper
27 x 20 in / 68.6 x 50.8 cm
Image courtesy of Château Shatto
The works hum with life. To stand in front of these images is to feel them rather than see them. Which is exactly how the artist’s would have wanted it to be.
The show closes on August 1st, so hurry on down if you are lucky enough to live in Los Angeles.
WOLFGANG PAALEN
Nuclear Wheel, 1942
Oil on canvas
25.6 x 23.6 in / 65 x 60 cm
Image courtesy of Château Shatto
Château Shatto
540 Western Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90004
+1 (323) 848-4078
Tuesday to Saturday, 11–6pm
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