Exhibition “Universo Dalí”

“Universo Dalí” is the new temporary exhibition of the Atkinson Museum, at WOW, and came to reveal more details about the life and work of Salvador Dalí. It has already opened to the public and will be open until October 31. The inauguration ceremony was attended by several authorities over Dalí, such as Nicolas Descharnes.

The Cultural Quarter of Gaia presents a new exhibition. This time, it is the “Dalí Universe” that opened to the public at the Atkinson Museum. It is an exhibition that presents the life and work of one of the most emblematic artists of the twentieth century.

The origins, the shift to surrealism, the American dream, the incursion into advertising, the secret conversion to Catholicism, the reinterpretation of Goya, and the Walt Disney film: all in a fascinating and irreverent trajectory evident in the Atkinson Museum.

The exhibition takes the visitor through an unprecedented path about the Spanish surrealist and invites a journey through the multifaceted universe of one of the greatest geniuses of art, through drawings, sketches, paintings, sculptures and commercial and advertising works.

In all, there are more than 200 pieces, of which a selection of photographs by Robert Descharnes, French photographer and friend of Dalí, captured between 1955 and 1985, offers a rare glimpse of the artist’s personal life, in intimate moments and his family environment. The photographer’s son, Nicolas Descharnes, the current owner of his father’s estate and considered an expert in Dalí, was present at the opening of the exhibition. In using the word, he defined Dalí as “genetically Spanish, intellectually French, aesthetically Italian and commercially American” and reinforced the importance of the photographic work exhibited here: “Through the photographs of my father, the memory of this genius can be kept alive”.

The exhibition, which appears in the year that marks the centenary of surrealism, has yet another intriguing work that was highlighted at the time of the inauguration. “Vision of Hell in Fatima” has a replica numbered in this show patent in WOW and comes to unveil the connection of Dalí to Portugal and his almost unknown Catholic religiosity. Carlos Evaristo, an expert in sacred iconography, explained the work and revealed that it was “an order made to Dalí in 1959 to represent the third secret of Fatima”. Dalí took about three years to finish the painting and in this context “visited Fatima, met with Sister Lucia and converted to Catholicism, so much so that later he returned to the Church the money he had received for the work”. To finish the eccentricity around this painting, it is added that “the work remained, unknown, for almost three decades under the mattress of a nun”.

Salvador Dalí, born in 1904 in Figueres, in northeastern Spain, has become a global personality with a unique presence and unmistakable style. “This exhibition is an unmissable opportunity to explore the legacy of one of the most iconic artists of the 20th century and discover the man behind the myth. It is a collection that reveals the versatility of the Atkinson Museum, which intends to bring to Porto notable exhibitions of an international nature, touching the most diverse spectres of art, from classical to contemporary”, says Adrian Bridge, general director of the Fladgate Partnership group, where the cultural block is inserted.

The exhibition “Universo Dalí” has the collaboration of Nicolas Descharnes and Carlos Evaristo, from the Oriana Foundation. The curator was in charge of Andreia Esteves, responsible for the Atkinson Museum and the international partnerships of WOW.

“Universo Dalí” is open until October 31 and can be visited daily, from 10 am to 7 pm, with tickets at 15€ (children for half the value).

About WOW:
O WOW é o novo quarteirão cultural do Grande Porto e está localizado no centro histórico de Vila Nova de Gaia. Nasce a partir das renovadas caves de Vinho do Porto, num projeto que foi classificado de Potencial Interesse Nacional (PIN). O tem uma área bruta de 55 mil metros quadrados e inclui no total sete museus, doze restaurantes e cafés, lojas, uma Escola de Vinho, um espaço de exposições e vários espaços de eventos. Inaugurado em 2020, o WOW celebra a cultura, a gastronomia, a história e as indústrias da região Norte e de Portugal. Mais informações em wow.pt

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