Max Ernst to present exhibition at the MACC’s Schaefer International Gallery April 9–June 1

Maui Arts & Cultural Center presents Max Ernst: Surreal Mindscapes & Characters in the Schaefer International Gallery, an exhibition showcasing the work of one of the most significant artists to contribute to the movements of Dada and Surrealism in the development of modern art in the past century. The exhibit runs April 9 through June 1.

The gallery is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is free.

“It is an exciting prospect to bring an artist of such international and art historical profile to our exhibition space on Maui, and to be able to showcase a selection of works, many of them substantial in scale, that have rarely been exhibited before. While Max Ernst was active during a very different time in modern art history—some of the earliest works in the exhibit were created almost a century ago—the fantastical and experimental quality of his approach is timeless, transporting the viewer into an imagined reality,” said Gallery Director Jonathan Clark, who curated the exhibition.

German-born artist Max Ernst (1891-1976) was a key figure whose work had a profound influence on the trajectory of modern art from the early to late 20th century. Out of the devastating experiences of World War I, Ernst harnessed his sharp disillusionment with the European establishment and joined the forefront of the Dada art movement, engaging with other contemporaries who saw themselves as revolutionaries in their rejection of aesthetics and embrace of the illogical.

With a prolific output that spanned chapters spent in Germany, France, and the United States, Ernst continued to push innovative approaches that bridged into Surrealism, favoring the fantastical over the rational, and tapping into the innate potential of dreams to reveal the workings of the subconscious.

This exhibition highlights his role in these historical art movements, including several rarely exhibited works that bring to light the characters and environments of the artist’s wide-spanning breadth of expression. The selection of works includes Ernst’s early series of 34 collotype textured rubbings titled Histoire Naturelle; large and small-scale bronze sculptures of abstracted characters; original sculpted concrete cinder blocks from his home in Sedona, Arizona; and a series of monumental tapestries by Yvette Cauquil-Prince, who worked closely with Ernst to translate his paintings into woven textiles.

Yvette Cauquil-Prince (19282005) was an artist of notable stature in her own right and a master tapestry weaver who worked directly in collaboration with numerous 20th century artists and their estates including Picasso, Kandinsky, and Calder, becoming most well-known for her association with Marc Chagall.

She wielded a distinct sense for translating the richness of master paintings into complexly nuanced tapestries that were woven in her studio in Paris. During a decade-long break from working with Chagall, Cauquil-Prince connected with Ernst and developed several of his Surrealist paintings into tapestries that outsized the originals.

The works on exhibit come from the collection of Eric Ernst, grandson of Max Ernst, whose personal recollections of his grandfather and relationship with the various pieces in the collection offer a unique vantage point for understanding the artist’s life beyond what is documented in textbooks and the writings of modern art history.

“It is clear that to understand Max Ernst one needs to recognize his perpetual quest for whatever means or images that would stir the viewer’s mind as well as the eye. He strove to unlock the unconscious and allow those illogical impulses and reveries that float within to become conscious narratives that rival reality itself,” Eric Ernst said.

Schaefer International Gallery is open from Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and also before select Castle Theater shows. Admission is free. This exhibition is presented by Maui Arts & Cultural Center and sponsored in part by County of Maui – Office of Economic Development.

“… the fantastical and experimental quality of his approach is timeless, transporting the viewer into an imagined reality.”

– Jonathan Clark GALLERY DIRECTOR