José Jiménez Livres

"Can’t the dream be used in solving the fundamental problems of life?" asked André Breton, in the First Surrealist Manifesto . For the Surrealists, dreams were the ultimate site of possibility, the realm in which the artist and writer might be liberated from his or her rationality, moral judgment and taste. This beautifully designed volume offers, for the first time, a thorough account of the centrality of dreams to the Surrealist project. It includes paintings, drawings, collages, sculptures and photographs by Jean Arp, Brassaï, Victor Brauner, André Breton, Claude Cahun, Leonora Carrington, Salvador Dalí, Paul Delvaux, Max Ernst, René Magritte, André Masson, Dora Maar, Paul Nougé, Karel Teige and Yves Tanguy, among others. A special section on "Those Who Paved the Way (of Dreams)" includes works by J.J. Grandville, Odilon Redon and Henri Rousseau. Critical texts by Dawn Ades and Geroges Sebbag examine the history and philosophy of dreams within the Surrealist movement.

“I’m pursuing the impossible . . . I want to paint the air in which the bridge, the house, and boat are to be found—the beauty of the air around them . . .” Claude Monet wanted to capture more than just air and light in impasto paint on canvas, as he explained in a conversation with the Danish author Herman Bang in 1895. The master of light was also a master of shadows and reflections. This is evident in his most famous paintings, such as that of the façade of the Rouen cathedral, or the haystacks painted against light, or in the reflections of the water lilies in the pond at Giverny. In particular, his sun-drenched groves, coastlines, and depictions of the Seine in both summer and winter, demonstrate how Monet revolutionized painting by questioning the conventional notions of what a painting could be. This exquisite volume is devoted to the works from the period between 1880 and 1905 and truly paints Monet in a new light. Exhibition: Fondation Beyeler Riehen/Basel, January 22–May 28, 2017