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The Arts Intel Report

A Cultural Compass
For the World Traveler
A Cultural Compass
For the World Traveler

Wolfgang Paalen (1905-1959): An Austrian Surrealist in Paris and Mexico

Oct 4, 2019 – Jan 19, 2020
Schloss Belvedere, Prinz Eugen-Straße 27, 1030 Wien, Austria

Everywhere Wolfgang Paalen went, he left behind a trail of smoke. The Austrian artist, in thrall to the Surrealists and the idea of unconscious creation, developed a technique called Fumage—with candle smoke he stained his canvases black, then oil painted the diaphanous forms. Focusing on Paalen’s years in Paris during the late 30s, and his experimental years in Mexico (1942 to 1944), this exhibition includes never-before-seen Fumage images. —E.C.