René Margritte at MoMASF

“Rene François Ghislain Margritte, The Fifth Season”

At the Museum of Modern Art San Francisco

René François Ghislain Magritte was a Belgian surrealist artist. He became well known for creating witty and thought-provoking images, often depicting ordinary objects shown in unusual contexts. His work is known for challenging observers’ preconditioned perceptions of reality.

Surrealism was born soon after Dadaism and blossomed in both Europe and the United States in the ’20s and ’30s. It first began as a literary movement and then as an analysis of Freudian dreams. It focused deliberately the bizarre and irrational trying to express hidden truths, unreachable through logic. There are two forms of Surrealism within the movement: Joan Miró and Max Ernst practiced the improvised art, distancing themselves as much as possible from conscious control of their art. Others, like Magritte, Dali, and de Chirico, used realistic techniques to submit hallucinatory scenes that defied common sense.

This current Magritte exhibition which critics have called “brilliant,” and “an extended dream state,” focuses on the renowned Surrealist’s late career. Here he shows us his twists and turns on reality and his sometimes humorous, sometimes unsettling, but always powerful images. The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art has dedicated nine galleries, filled with rarely seen Magritte artworks. The show leaves the viewer immersed in delight, with your mind engaged, and your sense of reality challenged for months to come.