Who was this surrealist?

April 14, 2015 10:50 AM

ArtFilter: I'm trying to figure out who created a number of surrealist images. I remember inversion/fusion of right-side-up and up-side-down things as the main theme, with a lot of castle-islands, boats sailing through the sky, etc. Along the lines of this image.

I saw these at the Chateau Gruyere gallery in Switzerland in 2001. Possibly a Swiss artist.

I hope this explanation is adequate -- it's hard to describe surrealism!

I would love to find these images again, so thanks for your help!

posted by switcheroo to Media & Arts (16 answers total)

Probably René Magritte. UPDATE: (Actually, probably not. Sorry.)
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 11:00 AM on April 14, 2015

Yves Tanguy? Some of his stuff reminds me of what you posted.
posted by holborne at 11:03 AM on April 14, 2015

Seconding Chocolate Pickle. It sounds like Magritte. Maybe something like these works?
posted by Hactar at 11:04 AM on April 14, 2015

Possibly Magritte, although your description brought to mind Vladimir Kush (b. 1965), a modern painter whose work is very reminiscent of Dalí and Magritte.
posted by pipeski at 11:06 AM on April 14, 2015

Response by poster: Thanks for the answers so far! I don't think it's either Magritte or Tanguy. The aesthetic is closer to Kush (whom I love!). Not so bleak as the first two, and very beautiful.
posted by switcheroo at 11:09 AM on April 14, 2015

jacek yerka?
posted by mrmanvir at 11:20 AM on April 14, 2015

Jacek Yurka?
posted by showbiz_liz at 11:32 AM on April 14, 2015

Damn
posted by showbiz_liz at 11:32 AM on April 14, 2015 [1 favorite]

Rob Gonsalves?
posted by monologish at 11:36 AM on April 14, 2015

Is it Roger Dean? For his most well-known examples (at least during the 1970s), search on Yes album covers.
posted by Rash at 11:45 AM on April 14, 2015 [2 favorites]

José Roosevelt? Brazilian surrealist living in Switzerland. His bio says he has shown at the Chateau Gruyere, but not in 2001.
posted by Kabanos at 11:45 AM on April 14, 2015

Hans-Werner Sahm?
posted by The otter lady at 12:22 PM on April 14, 2015

Michael Sowa? He's German and contemporary, so it fits the "saw it in a gallery in Switzerland in 2001" box. He also was probably enjoying a bit of a spate of popularity then from having just had his work featured in the film Amelie.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 12:48 PM on April 14, 2015

M.C. Escher?
posted by LauraJ at 12:54 PM on April 14, 2015

Nikolay Stoëv? His CV says he completed a triptych called "By The White Castle" for the Chateâu Gruyère in 2000, which means it would have been pretty new there in 2001. Can't find a picture of it but his other works may be similar?
posted by Athanassiel at 7:36 PM on April 14, 2015

Response by poster: I figured it out!! It was Patrick Woodroffe. This is the painting I was thinking of, and here's the collection I saw at the gallery.

Thanks for all the ideas! I got you off on the wrong track a little, since most of Woodroffe's works are fantastical rather than surreal, but I have thoroughly enjoyed all of your suggestions.
posted by switcheroo at 8:52 AM on April 15, 2015 [2 favorites]