Visitors to Madrid in upcoming months have a visual treat waiting for them at the Mapfre Foundation, which from June 18 welcomes an exhibit entitled “The subversion of Images”. It will explore surrealism in photography and cinema in works by Man Ray, Raoul Ubac, Maurice Tobard, Robert Bresson, Hans Richter and others.

The curators of the exhibition have reunited over 400 works displayed at the Recoletos Gallery in the Foundation, to illustrate how the Surrealists used photography and moving images to give life to their own artistic language and view of reality.

The exhibition is divided into nine sections which showcase various aspects of surrealism and the relationship that artists belonging to this artistic movement had with world of images, their way of seeing, interpreting and manipulating the world around them and the images they produced.

The “Subversion of images”, the title of the exhibition was also the title of a series of photos of Paul Nougé by Belgian photographer Marcel Marien gave. The subversion in question, first, transforms the image and the other changes reality through the image. Surrealist painting was born of the imagination, and photography was another way to express the images created by the mind, and to discover the unknown facets of the conscious and unconscious mind. Indeed the surrealists did not work alone, locked in their studies or photo labs; they also got out on the street to explore the hidden and mysterious zones of the city.

The last section “Making good use of Surrealism” draws attention to the manner in which the surrealist aesthetic was extended to “commercial” areas and left its mark on the worlds of advertising and fashion.

Spend some days in total relaxation in the Spanish capital and enjoy its cultural events. While visiting this exceptional exhibition, you can rent apartments in Madrid, for maximum comfort at the best price. The exhibition can be visited until September 12. The Foundation organizes guided tours; for more information consult their web page at http://www.exposicionesmapfrearte.com/subversion/