KRAKOW.- An exhibition-cum-story about one of the most intriguing and elusive figures of European surrealism. Born in 1902 as Marie Čermínová, she abandoned her name, roles, and expectations at a young age, adopting the pseudonym Toyen and living and creating beyond the boundaries of gender, convention, and social norms. Together with Jindřich Štyrský, she shaped Czech surrealism, exploring eroticism, the unconscious and freedom as spaces for radical imagination. Her work is characterised by a distinctive, often provocative approach to themes of gender, sexuality and desire – her works combine elaborate symbolism with forms that transcend heteronormative representations of the body.

The exhibition presents almost all of Toyen's illustrated books, her prints, catalogues and posters, which both address erotic themes and constitute a testimony to her artistic response to the rise of fascism. It is the story of a dreamer who deliberately chose to live on the margins of society and for whom art became a tool of emancipation and transgression.

Toyen (21 September 1902 – 9 November 1980) was a founder and the most celebrated member of Czech Surrealist Group.

Born Marie Čermínová, the name Toyen was adopted in early adulthood. There was no explanation given for this new name, although it may be derived from the French word ‘Citoyen’ (citizen) which gave a non-gendered identity. Another suggestion is that it is a play on the Czech words ‘To je on’, which means ‘It is he’.

Toyen identified using the Czech language’s masculine form and dressed in working men’s clothes. This exploration of gender stereotypes has made Toyen a cult figure. After a period in Paris, Toyen returned to Prague in 1928 and helped establish the city as a significant centre for Surrealist activity. Toyen was supported in particular by André Breton, the leading figure in the Surrealist movement, and became friendly with many of the prominent figures in the French Surrealist group, including Max Ernst, Yves Tanguy and Salvador Dalí.

Toyen's fluid approach to gender greatly impacted their art, leading to explorations of gender, politics, and eroticism, including during the challenging era of Nazi occupation in Prague. After the occupation ended, their wartime art could finally be exhibited. Their works portray dreamlike and ghostly, nocturnal spaces with floating, enigmatic objects which mainly belong to a mineral world with references to shells, stones and also references to the human body, as well as unlikely and often monstrous shapes.

A major touring retrospective of over 300 works spanning various mediums such as paintings, drawings, illustrations, prints and collages, travelled from Národní Galerie Praha in Prague (2021), Hamburger Kunsthalle in Hamburg (2021) and Musée d'Art Moderne de Paris, Paris (2022). Toyen's works were included in the group exhibitions Organised Killing at the Richard Saltoun Gallery, London, (2022); Apparitions: Frottages and Rubbings from 1860 to Now, Hammer Museum, Los Angeles (2015) and most recently, the solo exhibition Toyen - Surreal/ Radical at the Ludwig Museum Koblenz, Germany (2023). Toyen was also included in the 59th edition of the Venice Biennale - The Witch's Cradle - curated by Cecilia Alemani.

Curator: Adam Budak