Salvador Dali exhibition

Christine Argillet Gallery, West Hollywood, CA

I saw this exhibition a while back. These Dali prints all came from the collection of Pierre Argillet and many of them reminded me of the murky Dali print authentication mess that landed in the courts a few years ago.

I remember reading magazine articles about Dali signing piles of blank paper, which were later used for printing. The claim was that this was done in the interest of time and that Dali himself worked on the plates, however at least one dealer who sells similar prints tells customers that they are probably "artistically created images-after Dali and bearing his pencil signature."

On some of the prints the embossing of the paper from the plate clearly overlaps the signature and was obviously done after the signature.

Regardless of the questions about their authenticity, there are some very nice images in this exhibition. I was particularly taken with some images of horsemen, which clearly displayed the draftsmanship of the master. The combination of overall power and a delicate sensitivity reminded me of Leonardo’s drawings of horses.

I came away from this exhibition thinking about how the questions surrounding their authenticity had affected my experience of the work. I had to ask myself, “Would I have liked them better if I had no doubts about their authenticity?” I like to think that I can view art objectively and arrive at my opinions unbiased by any hype surrounding a “big name” like Dali. Ultimately the works that were the most satisfying were the ones that were un-questionably authentic—not because of any hype from the name Dali, but because they were good. Dali deserves his reputation.

Conclusion: Dali rocks!