Mark Polizzotti and Robert Zeller on Surrealism at 100

As we mark the centennial of Surrealism, join authors Mark Polizzotti and Robert Zeller in conversation about historical Surrealism and its enduring legacy in contemporary culture and art. They will discuss their books, Why Surrealism Matters (Polizzotti) and New Surrealism: The Uncanny in Contemporary Painting (Zeller), as well as why some aspects of Surrealism remain prevalent in the West, while other aspects no longer resonate.

PLEASE NOTE: RSVPs are encouraged but not required. Seating is limited and will be first come, first served. Doors open at 5:30 pm.

Can't attend? Order your signed copy of Why Surrealism Matters here, and New Surrealism: The Uncanny in Contemporary Painting here (please specify that you would like it signed in the comments box at checkout).

An elegant consideration of the Surrealist movement as a global phenomenon and why it continues to resonate

“Mr. Polizzotti carefully balances the movement’s aspirations and attainments against its flaws and contradictions, hoping to recuperate Surrealism’s ‘critical and imaginative essence’ for the present. . . . The best concise account of the movement available.”—Michael Saler, Wall Street Journal

Why does Surrealism continue to fascinate us a century after André Breton’s Manifesto of Surrealism? How do we encounter Surrealism today? Mark Polizzotti vibrantly reframes the Surrealist movement in contemporary terms and offers insight into why it continues to inspire makers and consumers of art, literature, and culture.

Polizzotti shows how many forms of popular media can thank Surrealism for their existence, including Monty Python, Theatre of the Absurd, and trends in fashion, film, and literature. While discussing the movement’s iconic figures—including André Breton, Leonora Carrington, Salvador Dalí, René Magritte, Man Ray, and Dorothea Tanning—he also broadens the traditionally French and male-focused narrative, constructing a more diverse and global representation. And he addresses how the Surrealists grappled with ideas that mirror current concerns, including racial and economic injustice, sexual politics, issues of identity, labor unrest, and political activism. Why Surrealism Matters provides a concise, engaging exploration of how, a century later, the “Surrealist revolution” remains as dynamic as ever.

New Surrealism: The Uncanny in Contemporary Painting by Robert Zeller offers a sweeping exposition of both historical Surrealism and its legacy in the world of contemporary art

It demonstrates the many ways in which the most significant art movement of the last century continues to be relevant today, featuring an international selection of contemporary artists whose compositions and studio practice reveal its influence.

There are many modalities of historical Surrealism that still maintain contemporary currency: presenting the familiar as unfamiliar and uncanny, the juxtaposition of seemingly unrelated imagery, the use of absurdity to critique political or social issues, and the use of erotic imagery in an irrational, non-linear context. Not all the artists brought together in this book self-identify as Surrealist, per se, but each uses some variation of Surrealism in a personal manner.

The book begins with a study of the origins, leadership, participating artists, and major milestones of historical Surrealism. Zeller chronicles the movement starting at the end of World War I and the birth of Dada. The most important players and events emerge throughout the timeline of events—including World War II, and such notable artists as Max Ernst, Marcel Duchamp, Leonora Carrington, and many others—up until the death of its leader Andre Breton in 1966.

Zeller then explores how elements of New Surrealism are being put into practice in the contemporary art world. Section Two offers a survey of 29 contemporary artists who engage in New Surrealism's seemingly unlimited variations of the movement's original themes, including Rosa Loy, Glenn Brown, and Arghavan Khosravi. Section Three features 14 artists, including important contemporary artists such as Inka Essenhigh, Ginny Casey and Anna Weyant, who speak to Surrealism's influence on their studio practice, detailing in their own words how they create a composition from start to finish.

Photo by Jacqueline Colliss Harvey

Mark Polizzotti is an award-winning writer and translator. His previous books include Revolution of the Mind: The Life of André Breton and Sympathy for the Traitor: A Translation Manifesto, as well as many translations from the French.

Photo by Sandro Baebler

Robert Zeller is a visual artist and writer who received a BFA from a joint program of the Boston Museum School and Tufts University and an MFA from the New York Academy of Art. He maintains a studio practice in Brooklyn, where he creates Surrealist-inspired work. He is the recipient of two Posey Fellowships and a Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant. He has curated group exhibitions in New York City, and his art has been exhibited and collected in the United States, Europe and Mexico. He has written two books for Monacelli Press, an imprint of Phaidon, The Figurative Artist's Handbook (2017), and New Surrealism: The Uncanny in Contemporary Painting (2023). He contributed a chapter to Photography: Real and Imagined (2023), profiling the permanent collection of Surrealist photography of the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, Australia, and has also written for The Brooklyn Rail and other influential art periodicals and blogs. Zeller is the Director of The Teaching Studios of Art, an in-person and online art school devoted to instruction in figurative art, which he founded in 2009.