Jindřich Štyrský

Adrien Dax, Toulouse (acquired as a gift directly from the artist; possibly)

Thence by descent to the present owner

Prague, Galerie hlavního města Prahy, Jindřich Štyrský, 2007, no. 397, illustrated in colour p. 303

Adrien Dax (1913–1979) was a distinctive figure of post-war French Surrealism, at once discreet and deeply committed. Born in Toulouse, where he spent most of his life while pursuing a career as an engineer, he joined the Surrealist group around André Breton in 1948 and took an active part in its activities despite living far from Paris. For Dax, Surrealism was more than an aesthetic approach: it was a genuine way of thinking and living. His commitment was at once artistic, intellectual, and political, remaining faithful to the spirit of the movement. He contributed to exhibitions, journals, and collective writings while defending critical positions, notably against the political excesses of his time.

His work is characterised by a practice of automatism aimed at freeing the image from rational control. Rather than depicting nature, Dax explored its forms and processes: his compositions combine vegetal, mineral, and organic elements within a biomorphic universe in which everything appears to be in a state of transformation. The forms remain deliberately ambiguous, resisting precise identification and opening a space for interpretation. This research was supported by constant technical experimentation. Dax notably developed what he called “impressions de relief(s)” (“relief impressions”), a process consisting of pressing objects into wet paint in order to bring forth unexpected forms. Through such procedures, he questioned matter itself and demonstrated that an image could emerge from chance and gesture rather than from a predetermined intention.

An essential aspect of his Surrealist life, however, unfolded far from the studio, in the village of Saint-Cirq-Lapopie in the Lot region. From the early 1950s onward, André Breton acquired a house there, where he spent every summer, transforming it into a genuine gathering place for the group. Adrien Dax was among the artists regularly invited to join these meetings. In this house, which became a focal point of post-war Surrealism, participants lived and created together: they exchanged ideas, invented collective games, wrote, organised projects, and gave free rein to a creativity nourished by the village’s singular atmosphere. These summer stays played an important role in the practice and spirit of the group. They extended Surrealism as a lived experience founded on friendship, imagination, and shared endeavour, within an environment conducive to inspiration. The landscape of Saint-Cirq-Lapopie, invested with an almost poetic significance for Breton and his circle, acted as a catalyst for their creativity. There, Dax found a space for exchange and stimulation that complemented his solitary work in Toulouse.

Despite the richness of his œuvre, Dax rejected the pursuit of fame and favoured this collective dimension. His first solo exhibition did not take place until 1976, relatively late in his career, contributing to his long-standing position on the margins of public recognition. Today, Adrien Dax is regarded as an important figure of post-war Surrealism. Through his exploration of matter, his commitment to automatism, and his active participation in the collective life of the movement, he helped to extend and renew the Surrealist spirit, seeking above all to transform the way we see and inhabit the world.

The present work forms part of a group of four pieces from the Adrien Dax Estate, comprising two works by the artist alongside two works by major Surrealist figures: Jindřich Štyrský and a cadavre exquis created by André Breton, Valentine Hugo, Nusch Éluard, and Greta Knutson.