Dreaming the West:
Surrealism's Legacy in Contemporary Montana

Surrealism originated in Paris in 1924 as a literary and artistic movement. As the word implies, surrealism deals with another form of reality. The imagery it inspires is often based on dreams, the irrational, and the subconscious. In the American West, Surrealism has evolved to encompass a wide range of concerns and ideologies as evident in the work of three Montana artists.

© Robert Royhl, Self-Portrait, 1993; etching

Kathryn Schmidt’s paintings transpose human behavior into animal shapes, thus challenging the viewer’s concept of reality. Robert Royhl, on the other hand, explores the hidden world of the psyche in his self-portraits. Taking a different approach, Jesse Valentine seeks to rediscover the marvelous within the ordinary by using humorous juxtapositions of images and words. The exhibition was organized by the Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art in Great Falls, Montana, and is sponsored through the Montana Art Gallery Directors Association