The Wick List

Viewing Surrealism Beyond Borders

Surrealism Beyond Borders arrived on to Instagram feeds with a splash last week, sending several molten clocks flying and knocking the lobster landline off the wall.

Yet the Tate’s new exhibition aims to reposition the idea of Surrealist thought, expanding the collective consciousness to see the true global scope that birthed the movement. Featuring over 150 works, from paintings to sculpture, photography and films, the show explores the collective interests shared by artists across regions to highlight their interrelated networks. Surrealism has always been a vehicle for change, defying conservative social conventions, and the Tate is aiming to show the world that that’s more than just Magritte’s Time Transfixed (the iconic fireplace train). Among the works that are new to the UK are photographs by Cecilia Porras and Enrique Grau from 1950s Colombia, and paintings by the exiled Spanish artist Eugenio Granell, highlighting how the unique political contexts in which they lived and created influenced the works and by extension the movement.


Featuring over 150 works ranging from painting and photography to sculpture and film, many of which have never been shown in the UK, this exhibition explores the collective interests shared by artists across regions to highlight their interrelated networks. It also considers the conditions under which they worked and how this in turn impacted Surrealism, including the pursuit of independence from colonialism and displacement caused by international conflict. Among the rarely seen works are photographs by Cecilia Porras and Enrique Grau, which defied the conservative social conventions of 1950s Colombia, as well as paintings by exiled Spanish artist Eugenio Granell, whose radical political commitments made him a target for censorship and persecution.

Based on extensive research, this exhibition will reach across the world and span over 50 years, showing how generations of artists have been inspired and united by surrealism – from centres as diverse as Buenos Aires, Cairo, Lisbon, Mexico City, Prague, Seoul, and Tokyo.

Share story
Further information
READ MORE
The Wick Culture - Selah, 2025, Gabriel Moses. Image courtesy of 180 Studios
The Wick List

Viewing Gabriel Moses: Selah at 180 Studios

The Wick Culture - Me and Esme in a Korean Restaurant, 2024, Chantal Joffe. © Chantal Joffe, courtesy of the artist and Victoria Miro. Photos by Jack Hems.  
The Wick List

Viewing Chantal Joffe: The Dog’s Birthday at Skarstedt Paris

The Wick Culture - Horizontal–Vaakasuora by Eija-Liisa Ahtila. Image courtesy of Kew Gardens
The Wick List

Viewing The Power of Trees at Kew Gardens

The Wick Culture - Amoako Boafo, Shoulder Stand, 2023. Amoako Boafo, Black Cycle, 2025. © Amoako Boafo, Photo: Prudence Cuming Associates Ltd, Courtesy Gagosian
The Wick List

Viewing Amoako Boafo at Gagosian London

The Wick Culture - Rose Wylie, Henry Triangle, 1996. Image courtesy of the artist and David Zwirner
The Wick List

Viewing Rose Wylie at David Zwirner

The Wick Culture - The neck from a stoneware bottle with a bearded face known as a Bartmann bottle 1500s – 1600s. The bearded face decorating the neck lies half-buried on the foreshore. Image courtesy of Alessio Checconi and London Museum
The Wick List

Viewing Secrets of the Thames at the London Museum