The arrival of Salvador Dalí’s artworks in India for the first time is not just an artistic milestone ~ it is a moment of cultural introspection. While Dalí never visited the country, his fascination with India’s mysticism, coupled with his surrealist imagination, created a unique artistic connection. This exhibition in Delhi, bringing over 200 of his original works, allows Indian audiences to experience the world through the eyes of one of the most eccentric and thought-provoking artists of the 20th century.

Dalí was not just a painter; he was an enigma. His art, heavily influenced by Sigmund Freud’s theories on the subconscious, invited viewers into dreamlike worlds where reality melted into bizarre yet compelling forms. Elephants with impossibly long legs, disjointed human figures, and floating eyeballs were not just artistic quirks but reflections of a deeper psychological exploration. His works force the viewer to abandon rationality and embrace the unexpected. That a man so deeply fascinated by dreams and the subconscious was drawn to India is unsurprising. The Western world’s romanticised vision of India as a land of mysticism, gurus, and spiritual transcendence reached its peak in the 1960s and 70s ~ an era when Dalí was still producing and engaging with new ideas.

Advertisement

Though he never walked Indian streets or witnessed its chaotic yet harmonious contrasts first-hand, the country still found its way into his art. Some of his sketches were inspired by photographs taken by his friend and publisher, Pierre Argillet, on an Indian sojourn during this period. Dalí’s India, therefore, exists not as a literal representation but as an imagined landscape shaped by second-hand experiences and his own surrealist lens. This exhibition is a reminder that art is not bound by geography. While Dalí’s name has long been revered in European and American art circles, his work has never before been given a dedicated platform in India. This delay raises an important question: Why has a country with a thriving artistic tradition and deep engagement with surrealist themes taken so long to host such a collection?

Indian art, from its mythological paintings to its modernist expressions, often embraces the surreal. Yet, global conversations around surrealism have historically been dominated by Western artists, despite the presence of equally thought-provoking Indian counterparts. Bringing Dalí’s art to India is more than just an exhibition; it is an invitation to explore the intersections of cultural imagination. Indian audiences will not only see Dalí’s perspective on surrealism but will also find echoes of their own artistic traditions ~ where the mythical and the real constantly intertwine. Whether in temple carvings that depict gods with multiple arms or in folk paintings that blur the lines between dream and reality, surrealism has long existed in India’s visual culture. This long-overdue exhibition is an opportunity to reclaim surrealism not as a foreign import but as part of a larger, global artistic conversation ~ one that India has always belonged to, whether acknowledged or not