Dali Universe is an exhibition of artworks by Spanish surrealist Salvador Dali. It was housed in a London gallery for 10 years before being relocated to Venice in 2011. Rather than focusing on the artist’s paintings, which many viewers are familiar with, Dali Universe primarily showcases lesser-known items such as glass work, sculptures, and drawings. This exhibition is one of several around the world dedicated solely to the work of Dali.
As its name suggests, Dali Universe is an exhibition devoted solely to the work of Salvador Dali. Born in Spain in 1904, Dali established himself as a prominent figure in the surrealist art world of Europe and the US in the 1920s and 1930s. His work is highly recognizable for its often unsettling dreamlike imagery, which frequently features melting clocks, animals with distorted bodies, and bizarre desert landscapes.
From the years 2000 to 2010, Dali Universe was housed in the County Hall building, located on London’s South Bank. In 2011, the exhibition was moved to Venice. As of late 2011, it is housed in the Museo Santa Apollonia, which is located just a short walk from St. Mark’s Square, one of Venice’s most visited sites. Showcasing around 100 of Dali’s pieces, the Venice exhibition is considerably smaller than its London predecessor, which featured approximately 500 works by the artist. It is usually open to the public six days per week.
Many of the most casual art enthusiasts are familiar with one or more of Dali’s visually distinctive paintings. Dali Universe does not emphasize the artist’s paintings, however, instead opting to focus on items like blown glass, drawings, and sculptures. As the exhibition brings together many objects that are not as well known as Dali’s paintings, it may be interesting to those who have already had an opportunity to view some of his more famous works, as well as to those with a particular interest in surrealist sculpture or glass work.
In addition to Dali Universe, there are four other permanent collections which are dedicated solely to Dali’s art. Two of these, the Salvador Dali Museum and the Salvador Dali Gallery, are located in St. Petersburg, Florida, and Pacific Palisades, California, respectively. The Teatre-Museu Dali, located near Dali’s birthplace in Figueres, Spain, was designed by the artist himself prior to his 1989 death. Finally, the Espace Dali is located in Montmartre, the area of Paris, France, in which Dali lived and worked at one time.
