Surrealism and Us: Caribbean and African Diasporic Artists since 1940

Author: Maria Elena Ortiz (Editor)
Publisher: DelMonico Books/Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth
Year: 2024
Pages: 208
ISBN: 978-1636811284

Organized by Curator María Elena Ortiz, Surrealism and Us is inspired by the history of Surrealism in the Caribbean with connections to notions of the Afrosurreal in the United States. Representing a global perspective, this exhibition is the first intergenerational show dedicated to Caribbean and African diasporic art presented at the Modern.

Inspired by the essay “1943: Surrealism and Us” by Suzanne Césaire, the presentation includes over 50 works from the 1940s to the present day, in a wide range of media such as painting, sculpture, drawing, video, and installation. Centered on the intersection of Caribbean aesthetics, Afrosurrealism, and Afrofuturism, Surrealism and Us explores how Caribbean and Black artists interpreted a modernist movement. Artworks, framed within a pre-existing history of Black resistance and creativity, illustrate how Caribbean and Black artists reinterpreted the European avant-garde for their own purposes.