Salvador Dali Fever in Atlanta During Opening Festivities for New Exhibit

The High Museum of Art hosted an opening party on Saturday, August 7, 2010 to celebrate the new exhibit, Dali: The Late Work. This exciting new collection is the first major exhibition of Salvador Dali's late work presented exclusively at the High Museum of Art.

The event was held on opening day from 8:00 p.m. to Midnight. I arrived just before 8:00 and there was already a long line of people waiting to get in. There was a genuine excitement in the air of the new exhibit showing from August 7, 2010 to January 9, 2011 at the High Museum in Atlanta.

The opening event was entitled "So Real…Surreal Soiree" and included a number of fun activities including a wearable art fashion show, local artists, flamenco guitarist, Witold Tulodziecki and a jewelry trunk show by Ashley Buchanan.

Of course, the main attraction was the exhibit itself. Upon entering the galleries, one of the first paintings you encounter is the dramatic "Santiago El Grande," which has not left Canada since 1959. It is a painting of enormous size and scale. It is the first of a number of gigantic works created by Dali including the monumental, "Christ of St. John of the Cross." The collection contains more than 100 works, including 40 paintings. There are also a large number of drawings, lithographs and other mediums on display.

I was impressed with the sheer number of works and the wide range of themes featured. Two of the major themes repeated in a number of these works are the blending of Catholic mysticism and physics. However, there are a number of works incorporating surrealism, optical effects or illusionism that Dali was known for as well.

In addition to the paintings, there also a number of profound videos, photographs and articles on display that showed Dali's influence on artists such as Warhol, Litchenstein and de Kooning. Dali: The Late Work is a major, cultural event for the Atlanta area that will captivate, astound and inspire.

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