Surrealism Today

Most artistic movements occur in a particular time and place. Surrealism developed between the world wars: the 1920s and ’30s. However, artists today still integrate elements of Surrealism that feel relevant to the ideas they aim to express. Eugenia Loli (yoo-JEEN-yah LOH-lee), Inka Essenhigh (ING-kuh EHS-in-heye), and Marepe (mah-REH-peh) experiment with dreams, surprise, and unexpected juxtapositions.

Surrealism developed in the 1920s and ’30s. But artists today still use elements of Surrealism to share their ideas. Artists Eugenia Loli (yoo-JEEN-yah LOH-lee), Inka Essenhigh (ING-kuh EHS-in-heye), and Marepe (mah-REH-peh) are three examples. These artists experiment with dreams, surprises, and juxtapositions in their work.

Eugenia Loli was born in Greece in 1973 and now lives in California. She started out as a nurse and then became a computer programmer. She soon left the tech world because she found it cold and impersonal. Instead, Loli began making films and art.

Today the artist works in collage, using images scanned from vintage magazines and science journals to create narratives about strange yet familiar worlds. For each work, Loli begins with what she calls a base image and then builds a new scene around it. In the 2016 collage Destined to Destination, above, passengers disembark from an aircraft onto a tarmac in outer space. The desolate, foreign landscape contrasts with the retro-looking plane and relaxed travelers. A bright, unnaturally hued planet hovers in the background. By juxtaposing these images, the artist creates a strange, absurd scene.

Eugenia Loli was born in Greece and lives in California today. She was a nurse, then a computer programmer. But Loli soon discovered that neither job was for her. She wanted to be an artist.

Today Loli creates collages using images from old magazines. Through them, she tells stories about strange but familiar worlds. In her 2016 collage Destined to Destination, above, people exit an airplane. They look like images you’d see in an old-fashioned magazine. Except that they appear to have landed on an imaginary planet in outer space. A brightly colored planet floats in the background. Loli juxtaposes classic images to create a bizarre scene.

Inka Essenhigh, born in 1969, lives and works in New York City. She has always been interested in depicting the human figure in her art. The artist thinks of her paintings as fables or short stories featuring fantastical creatures that each convey a lesson or moral.

Essenhigh’s process often begins with a feeling: “I look for a mood, for something to say, then put down a brushstroke and see if it resonates,” she explains. “Then all I have to do is match that feeling.” Essenhigh painted her 2009 Green Goddess II, above, with smooth brushwork. The central figure walks across a grassy clearing in a forest, seemingly becoming one with the dreamy landscape. Her body is human-like, and her face is soft and without detail. Electric-green light seems to radiate from under her feet, making her seem at once weightless and grounded as flowers drift around her.

Inka Essenhigh lives and works  in New York City. The artist says her paintings are meant to be tales about fantastical creatures. Like a story, each painting shares a feeling with the viewer. When Essenhigh began painting her 2009 Green Goddess II, above, she first thought of a light-hearted, dreamy mood. Then she used smooth brushstrokes to match that feeling.

The figure walks across grass in a forest. She seems to blend in with the environment. Her body looks like a human’s. Her face is in shadow. Bright green light shines from under her feet, giving her a mystical appearance. The creature seems to float and root herself into the ground at the same time. What do you feel when you look at this painting?