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The Arts Intel Report

André Masson: There Is No Finished World

André Masson, Gradiva, 1938–39.

Mar 29 – Sept 2, 2024
1 Parvis des Droits de l'Homme, 57020 Metz, France

One hundred years ago, in 1924, André Breton wrote his Surrealist manifesto, which advocated for a revolution against rational thought and its constraints. A year earlier, André Masson (1896–1987) had already delved into automatic drawing, a technique that allows the hand to move randomly across paper, channeling the subconscious. The pioneering Masson lived in Paris, not far from the studios of Jean Dubuffet, Joan Miró, and Antonin Artaud. Throughout the 1930s, this group explored altered states of consciousness together. Masson did not limit himself to painting; he also wrote art criticism and worked as a theater and opera designer. Centre Pompidou celebrates Surrealism’s 100-year anniversary with a large retrospective on Masson. —Elena Clavarino

Photo: © Adagp, Paris, 2023/© Georges Meguerditchian-Centre Pompidou, MNAM-CCI /Dist. RMN-GP