“New York, you are an Egypt! You erect pyramids of democracy with the vertical organ-pipes of your skyscrapers all meeting at the point of infinity of liberty!” – Salvador Dalí
We may not be in New York or Egypt, but in Australia, at the Sofitel Sydney Darling Harbour Hotel, which hosts a magnificent glass pyramid. Inside, three extraordinary sculptures from The Dalí Universe Collection are on display: “Alice in Wonderland”, “Profile of Time” and “Space Venus”.
The exhibition at the Sofitel Sydney Darling Harbour Hotel marks our fruitful collaboration with Art Evolution Australia, expanding into the world of luxury hotels and beyond. Last week, guests at the Hotel witnessed the unveiling of this unique display curated by Art Evolution Australia Inc.
Art Evolution President and CEO, Christopher Talbot, was present at the unveiling and commented: “Salvador Dalí was inspired and fascinated by pure mathematical forms – such as the pyramid and the obelisk”.
Dalí was fascinated with the pyramid shape and its verticality. For the Master of Surrealism, everything had to be vertical, pointing upwards, reflecting his Spanish roots where verticality was paramount.
At the Sofitel Sydney Darling Harbour Hotel, Dalí’s “Space Elephant” and “The Horse Saddled with Time” are also displayed.
The bronze “Space Elephant” is one of the most impressive and inspiring artworks by the Master of Surrealism. The elephant carries on its back a tall crystal-clear obelisk, symbolizing strength and progress.
“Alice in Wonderland” is one of Dalí’s most recognizable images, interpreted both in graphic and sculptural forms. The sculpture portrays Alice’s innocence and naivety, her silhouette holding a skipping rope frozen in motion above her head, her hands and hair blossoming into roses, symbolizing feminine beauty and eternal youth.
An iconic soft clock sculpture, “Profile of Time” is a brilliant creation full of symbolic references and hidden meanings. Dalí developed an obsession with the passage of time, portraying the watch as being soft. Using the paranoiac-critical method he developed in 1929, in this sculpture, Dalí illustrated a “double image”: a self-portrait.
In “Space Venus” Dalí pays homage to the female figure and the allure of feminine beauty, incorporating his favorite surreal elements. The sculpture features a female bust adhering to Classical canons, with the addition of four Dalinian symbols: a melting clock, two ants, an egg, and the body separated into two parts. These symbols demonstrate Dalí’s extraordinary ability to transform emotions from his childhood and experiences with Gala into his art.
“The Horse Saddled with Time” is one of the first sculptures born from the collaboration between Beniamino Levi, President of the Dalí Universe, and Dalí himself. Levi persuaded Dalí to transform the horse’s saddle into an iconic melted clock. This sculpture signifies the omnipresence of time and the weight it imposes on our lives, portraying the horse saddled with Dalinian time.
We are proud to continue our fruitful collaboration with Art Evolution Australia, offering the opportunity to admire the works of the master of Surrealism within the elegant setting of the Sofitel Sydney Darling Harbour Hotel.
Dalí once said, “Painting is only an infinitesimal part of my personality”, and Beniamino Levi, President of the Dalí Universe, emphasizes the multifaceted nature of the Catalan artist: “In Dalí’s sculptural work, the fantastic, distorted, and exaggerated expressions are just as evident, making his work immediately identifiable and unique”.