Salvador Dali
Off the Wall Gallery will display the works of legendary surrealist, Salvador Dali from Jan. 22 to 24, from the collection of friend, avid collector and publisher, Pierre Argillet.
The opening reception will take place on Jan. 22 from 6 to 8 p.m., 5015 Westheimer, Suite 2208, Galleria I, 77056 (adjacent to Neiman Marcus valet parking, facing Post Oak).
Original paintings, copper plate etchings and rare tapestries will be available for sale for only 10 days.
Christine Argillet, daughter of Pierre, who spent many summers with Dali from age 16, will attend the sale and is available for interview. The collection boasts many of the artist’s most recognized thematic suites including Mythologie, Les Hippies, Faust: La Nuit de Walpurgis, Poèmes de Mao Tse Tung, Vénus aux Fourrures and Les Amours de Cassandre.
This show marks the first major Dali exhibition in Houston in nearly 15 years. Twenty years after his death, the work continues to evoke intellectual and psychological dialogue. Dali’s work influenced many mediums: films, painting, fashion, print-making, advertising, writing, pop music and inspired the creation of the Pop Art movement. “It’s the perfect Old Testament and New Testament story. Warhol picked up right where Dali left off – no Dali, no Warhol,” remarked Andy Warhol. Art critics and historians are now reassessing Dali’s incredible impact on not only the world of art, but as an important leader and innovator of pop culture.
Pierre Argillet was an avid collector of works by Futurists, Dadaists and Surrealists. Impressed and inspired by the poets Rimbaud and Lautreamont (Chants du Maldoror), he began his own spiritual journey in his early 20s and became actively involved in the cultural and artistic life of the times. He met many of the major artists of the 20th century in France and became a collector and publisher of their works. When Argillet met Dali in 1934, it would launch a life-long friendship and fruitful collaboration as the two would produce more than 200 suites of etchings over the course of more than 50 years. The Argillet Collection is unequivocally the most authenticated collection of Dali’s work throughout his career.
For more information on the Pierre Argillet Collection, please call (713) 871-0940 or visit www.offthewallgallery.com.
January 22 - January 24, 2010