ST. PETERSBURG, FLA.- The Dali Museum will electrify audiences again as they open Escher at The Dali this Saturday, August 22, 2015. The show highlights M.C. Escher, a renowned artist, whose visual illusions puzzle and delight audiences worldwide, and is best known for his “impossible constructions” and use of tessellation. Coming on the heels of exhibitions from famed artists including Picasso, Warhol and da Vinci, Escher at The Dali adds yet another inspiring perspective for visitors, and will run through Jan 3, 2016, just prior to the Museum’s grand opening of Disney & Dali: Architects of the Imagination.
On loan from the Herakleidon Museum in Athens, Greece, this robust exhibition will feature 135 works covering Escher’s entire artistic career. The show includes an array of the artist’s most famous works such as “Drawing Hands,” “Reptiles” and “Waterfall” alongside rarely exhibited early drawings of family members, panoramas of exotic landscapes and historic architecture of Italy and Spain, original preparatory sketches, mezzotints and more.
“Escher, like Dali, played in a serious way with that fundamental question of visual art – What is real? Is the world as it looks to be, or have I constructed an illusion in my mind? Escher delights every viewer with his visual sleights of hand,” said Dr. Hank Hine, Dali Museum Executive Director.
Escher at The Dali features prints, drawings, a sculpture, wood blocks, a lithograph stone and posters drawn by the artist to explain his printing techniques. The exhibit delves into his exploration of infinity through tessellation, in which shapes fit together perfectly without overlapping, including an enormous woodcut “Metamorphosis” (1939-40) which spans 13-1/2 feet. “Escher’s work is captivating on many levels,” said Curator of the Collection, Joan Kropf. “His images are realistic but challenging, accessible but elusive, entertaining but serious. This Escher collection has only been shown at a handful of locations in the U.S. and never in Florida – this is a rare treat for our visitors.”
