Wystawa czasowa
07.03.2026 - 14.06.2026
level 0
Toyen: Dreaming in the Margins
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Toyen, Paysage surréaliste, from the series Brunidor Portfolio, no. 2, 1947–1952, lithograph, 32.5 × 42 cm, courtesy of Richard Saltoun, London, Rome, New York
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Toyen, Etching for “Introduction a la lecture de Benjamin Péret”, 1965, drypoint, 33.2 × 26 cm, courtesy of Richard Saltoun, London, Rome, New York
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Toyen, from the series Annulaire de lune, 1977, drawing, courtesy of Richard Saltoun, London, Rome, New York
An exhibition-cum-story about one of the most intriguing and elusive figures of European surrealism. Born in 1902 as Marie Čermínová, she abandoned her name, roles, and expectations at a young age, adopting the pseudonym Toyen and living and creating beyond the boundaries of gender, convention, and social norms. Together with Jindřich Štyrský, she shaped Czech surrealism, exploring eroticism, the unconscious and freedom as spaces for radical imagination. Her work is characterised by a distinctive, often provocative approach to themes of gender, sexuality and desire – her works combine elaborate symbolism with forms that transcend heteronormative representations of the body.
The exhibition will present almost all of Toyen's illustrated books, her prints, catalogues and posters, which both address erotic themes and constitute a testimony to her artistic response to the rise of fascism. It is the story of a dreamer who deliberately chose to live on the margins of society and for whom art became a tool of emancipation and transgression.
Curator: Adam Budak
