After immersive exhibitions dedicated to Van Gogh and Monet, it’s Dalí’s turn to have his multimedia moment in Montreal: the Arsenal contemporary art offers a dive into the dreamlike universe of the icon of surrealism.
Many elements taken from the hallucinating works of the Catalan master will be reinvented in projection in this digital art exhibition presented until September 4.
Montreal becomes the fourth city of this international tour which has already welcomed 200,000 people in Belgium, Italy and New Zealand, according to the producers. The exhibition does not contain any original work by the painter, but rather animations taken from his most famous paintings. According to Paul Dupont-Hébert, the main producer, it is above all the immersive dimension of the exhibition that will attract fans of Dalí.
“It’s very pleasant to live this experience and, above all, to see the movements in Dalí’s paintings. And these are movements that the Dalí Foundation accepted, saying: “This is what Dalí would have done if he had been able, today, to put movements in his canvases.” So, we continue to create with his blessing,” he underlines.
Paul Dupont-Hébert is behind other similar exhibitions presented in several cities in Quebec, all inspired by some of the most influential painters of the 20th century.e century, like Claude Monet and Pablo Picasso.
“I broadcast dreams,” he explains. I am not a dream catcher, I am a dream broadcaster. »
He spent around five months making the animations shown in two Arsenal venues. The most imposing room is filled with projections 7 meters high, on walls 50 meters long. The Accommodations of Desire is one of the many reinvented paintings: large pebbles and the faces of lions dance side by side, before dissolving into hundreds of crawling ants in a black space. A piano composition is added to the experience, performed by the Florentine Stefano Patrizio.
Christ and selfies
The second room, filled with mirrors on each surface, presents works on 360 degrees. There, one can rediscover the metaphysical beauty of Christ of Saint John of the Crossin a presentation that is sure to inspire selfies from viewers.
Hundreds of the paintings are also reproduced and presented at the entrance to the exhibition.
“Here, you have the chance to visit all of Dalí’s work in an hour. Which you wouldn’t have in a normal Dalí exhibition, because it’s impossible to have all the loans from the different museums,” explains Raphaël Ramiche, managing director of the Belgian company Tempora, which owns the international exhibition. The project was carried out in collaboration with Tandem Expositions, the Montreal company behind other exhibitions produced by Paul Dupont-Hébert, such as The magic of the Impressionistsin Quebec.
The format of the exhibition allows people who “are not used to entering museums to still have an introduction” to the life of the artist, adds Mr. Ramiche. The public will also be able to discover some of Dalí’s lesser-known works, such as more than a hundred illustrations produced for The divine comedyproduced for the celebration of the 700e Dante’s birthday, in the middle of the last century.
“He’s a madman, he’s a contemporary, he’s a guy who plays with God, with the devil, with sex,” said Mr. Dupont-Hébert, justifying his choice to reinvent Dalí as part of his most recent project.
Adult tickets are $38 on weekdays and $48 on weekends. Discounts are offered to groups of 4 people or more. Groups of 12 or more are entitled to an additional discount.
“Price should not be an obstacle. It’s like in the movies, and a little more, argues Paul Dupont-Hébert. We want people to come. We want people to show that to their children. We want people to take Grandpa, Grandma. »