--- type: exposition title: Wolfgang Paalen (1905–1959) language: en url: "https://www.belvedere.at/en/wolfgang-paalen-1905-1959" --- # Wolfgang Paalen (1905–1959) ## An Austrian Surrealist in Paris and Mexico ![Fumage und Öl auf Leinwand/fumage and oil on canvas, 146 x 114 cm, Privatsammlung Paris (Ex 41342) (Copyright Succession Paalen, The Wolfgang Paalen Society e.V.)](https://www.belvedere.at/sites/default/files/styles/header_cropped_1920x480_fp/public/jart-images/_532413308404.jpg.webp?itok=DClXf-2k) **Duration:** 4 October 2019 - 19 January 2020 He was the only Austrian in the circle of Parisian Surrealists, at Frida Kahlo’s invitation he moved to Mexico, and he influenced American artists Jackson Pollock and Mark Rothko: Wolfgang Paalen was truly a world-wide trailblazer of art in the mid-twentieth century. Scant attention has been paid to him in recent years, but now the time has come for the Belvedere to dedicate a comprehensive exhibition to his oeuvre. Curated by Andreas Neufert and Franz Smola. \#WolfgangPaalen ### [Lower Belvedere](https://www.belvedere.at/en/visit/lower-belvedere) **Opening hours:** Monday to Sunday, 10 am - 6 pm **Address:** Lower Belvedere, 1030 Vienna ([Getting there]()) [Tickets](https://www.belvedere.at/en/tickets?location%5B0%5D=3) ##### In cooperation with - Wiener Zeitung ## Impressions - ![Ausstellungsansicht Wolfgang Paalen (1905-59). Der österreichische Surrealist in Paris und Mexiko. Foto: Johannes Stoll © Belvedere, Wien](https://www.belvedere.at/sites/default/files/styles/equal_height_slider_1x/public/media-directories/Wolfgang%20Paalen%20Presse%2011_0.jpg.webp?itok=6IoOe1zj) - ![Ausstellungsansicht Wolfgang Paalen (1905-59). Der österreichische Surrealist in Paris und Mexiko. Foto: Johannes Stoll © Belvedere, Wien](https://www.belvedere.at/sites/default/files/styles/equal_height_slider_1x/public/media-directories/Wolfgang%20Paalen%20Presse%2018_0.jpg.webp?itok=iSES2oVu) - ![Ausstellungsansicht Wolfgang Paalen (1905-59). Der österreichische Surrealist in Paris und Mexiko. Foto: Johannes Stoll © Belvedere, Wien](https://www.belvedere.at/sites/default/files/styles/equal_height_slider_1x/public/media-directories/Wolfgang%20Paalen%20Presse%2022_0.jpg.webp?itok=UymF738b) - ![Ausstellungsansicht Wolfgang Paalen (1905-59). Der österreichische Surrealist in Paris und Mexiko. Foto: Johannes Stoll © Belvedere, Wien](https://www.belvedere.at/sites/default/files/styles/equal_height_slider_1x/public/media-directories/Wolfgang%20Paalen%20Presse_0.jpg.webp?itok=3xjBO4DU) ## The Artist ![Wolfgang Paalen (1905–59) — Wolfgang Paalen, um/ca. 1940, — Foto: Eva Sulzer, Privatarchiv Andreas Neufert (Copyright Succession Sulzer, The Wolfgang Paalen Society e.V.)](https://www.belvedere.at/sites/default/files/styles/full_content_width_no_crop/public/jart-images/_532413308407.jpg.webp?itok=ag8tePwN) Born in Vienna in 1905, Wolfgang Paalen was drawn to Paris in 1929, where he joined the Surrealists. It was there that he developed the technique of *fumage*: By means of candle smoke, Paalen would “paint” hallucinatory motifs on blank canvases, wood, or paper and then continue them in an associative manner partly with oil paint. With these paintings, the Viennese artist quickly rose to international fame. Together with Duchamp, Man Ray, and Salvador Dalí, he designed the ground-breaking 1938 Surrealism exhibition at the Parisian Beaux-Arts gallery. One year later, the Second World War forced him into exile in Mexico – at the invitation of none other than Frida Kahlo. From there, between 1942 to 1944 he published the influential art journal *DYN* and wrote numerous articles and texts which inspired young representatives of American expressive-abstract painting, such as Robert Motherwell, Jackson Pollock, Barnett Newman, and Mark Rothko. Inspired by quantum physics and the art of totem poles from North America’s northwest coast, he further developed the unique look of fumage into a completely new spatial concept of painting. The exhibition at the Belvedere is primarily dedicated to these two of Paalen’s creative periods. It presents a series of never-before-seen *Fumage* and *Spaciales* images, supplemented by numerous biographical objects such as photos and letters and a comprehensive archive of the *DYN* magazine. Paalen’s research and collection over many years of indigenous art in British Columbia and Mexico, as well as his literary works that include poetry, short stories, plays, and art theory texts, appear in the exhibition as further elements of his complex work. ## Exhibited Artworks - ![vienna-art-week-wolfgang-paalen — Wolfgang Paalen, „Paysage totémique“, 1938, Privatsammlung Paris. — Privatsammlung / Private collection, courtesy of Malingue S. A.](https://www.belvedere.at/sites/default/files/styles/full_content_width_no_crop/public/events/vienna-art-week-wolfgang-paalen_1643.jpeg.webp?itok=Jkugoulv) - ![Öl und Fumage auf Leinwand, 129,5 × 99 cm — Wolfgang Paalen, „Taches solaires“, 1938 — Privatbesitz, San Francisco](https://www.belvedere.at/sites/default/files/styles/full_content_width_no_crop/public/jart-images/_532413308409.jpg.webp?itok=9gbNVyPw) - ![Regenschirm mit Schwämmen/umbrella with sponges, Durchmesser/diameter ca. 120 cm, Privatsammlung Berlin (Ex 42286) (Copyright Succession Paalen, The Wolfgang Paalen Society e.V. — Wolfgang Paalen, „Nuage articulé II“, 1937/1940 — Succession Paalen, The Wolfgang Paalen Society e.V.](https://www.belvedere.at/sites/default/files/styles/full_content_width_no_crop/public/jart-images/_532413308406.jpg.webp?itok=CfAsI1S4) - ![Öl auf Leinwand/oil on canvas, 130 x 162 cm, Privatbesitz (Ex 42270) (Copyright Succession Paalen, The Wolfgang Paalen Society e.V.) — Wolfgang Paalen, „Paysage médusé“, 1938 — Succession Paalen, The Wolfgang Paalen Society e.V.](https://www.belvedere.at/sites/default/files/styles/full_content_width_no_crop/public/jart-images/_532413308405.jpg.webp?itok=I_Dmgb1_) - ![Öl auf Leinwand/oil on canvas, 33,4 x 24,1 cm, Belvedere, Wien, Inv. 8864 — Wolfgang Paalen, „El Velorio“, 1946 — © Belvedere, Vienna](https://www.belvedere.at/sites/default/files/styles/full_content_width_no_crop/public/jart-images/_532413308403.jpg.webp?itok=BXeEgMiU) - ![Holz, Glaskugeln und Federkiele/wood, glass bowls, feathers, ca. 30 x 30 cm, Mark Kelmann New York (Ex 42287) (Copyright Succession Paalen, The Wolfgang Paalen Society e.V.) — Wolfgang Paalen, „L´heure exacte II (Relojes videntes)“, 1940 — Succession Paalen, The Wolfgang Paalen Society e.V.](https://www.belvedere.at/sites/default/files/styles/full_content_width_no_crop/public/jart-images/_532413308402.jpg.webp?itok=uj9ixUNB) ## Videos