A Dream Under Supervision
The thesis that Surrealism is a reaction to the disenchantment of the world is often cited. The Hamburger Kunsthalle now uses it to relate Surrealism to German Romanticism as an ideological forerunner. The exhibition “Rendezvous of Dreams” brings together around 300 works, including those by Magritte, Dalí, and Meret Oppenheim as well as by Caspar David Friedrich, Runge, and Hölderlin. It’s not about history, but about kindred spirits. About what glows between the centuries: dream, vision, revolt. Or at least the idea of it.
That sounds promising. But as always, when many are supposed to think together, a kind of aesthetic compromise looms. The exhibition stages the coexistence of both movements, but the supposed dialectic often remains mere consensus. The once militant Surrealism is reinterpreted in the mirror of Romanticism as an atmospheric movement. Its radicalism is historicized, and what separates is concealed. Even Breton’s manifesto, in this staging, seems more like a poetic prelude than a rupture.
Oil on canvas 94.8 x 74.8 cm
Permanent loan from the Stiftung Hamburger Kunstsammlungen
SHK / Hamburger Kunsthalle / bpk Photo: Elke Walford
In curatorial terms, the effort is impressive: 80 collections, 2,000 square meters, sound and scent stations, and interactive educational rooms. But this is precisely where the museum’s over-staging begins. While Surrealism once subverted control, here it is made accessible in a controlled way. What’s called mediation becomes subtext: the unconscious becomes a target group, the enigmatic a program station. There is little room left for true subversion.
An exhibition about the unconscious meets an audience that has long since learned to consume everything consciously. What once served as a provocation is now an invitation. The irrational is no longer a challenge but becomes curated, smoothed, made tangible. Surrealism thus no longer provokes—it becomes an offer: reliably museum-like, well-tempered, and accompanied by an interactive dramaturgy. It remains a beautiful dream. But a dream with a program booklet.
More on the Topic
The exhibition Rendezvous of Dreams on the website of the Hamburger Kunsthalle.
Recommended Reading
The monumental art book Dalí. BABY SUMO delves deep into the image world of the Surrealist – you’ll find our review on HYPERMADE.