Selling Exhibition • 8–25 October • New York

S otheby’s is pleased to present the selling exhibition Brooklyn Bridge: Federico Castellón and the birth of American surrealism, which celebrates the artist's distinct position within the Surrealist movement. The fantastical imagery and dreamlike compositions crafted by Castellón from the 1930s onwards reflect some of Surrealism's most inventive and unique compositions. Born in Almeria, Spain in 1914, Castellón moved with his family to Flatbush, Brooklyn when he was seven years old. An immigrant that did not yet speak English, Castellón found expressive power in art. Largely self-taught, his work is marked by profound poetic exploration of the Surrealist vocabulary, manifesting in intricately-rendered Boschian landscapes, enigmatic figures and abstract, idiosyncratic forms.

Though Castellón exhibited extensively during his lifetime, especially in New York, this exhibition is one of just a handful since his death in 1971. With major works that span from the 1930s to the early 1970s, this exhibition illustrates the artist’s development over the course of his career. A long-overdue spotlight on Castellón’s pioneering contributions to Surrealism, a movement which celebrates its centennial anniversary this year, this exhibition underscores Castellón’s role as one of its earliest American practitioners. His intricate, chimeric worlds, which he began to produce prior to his international travels and before the pivotal exhibition Fantastic Art, Dada, Surrealism at the Museum of Modern Art, serve as a vital link in the development of early Modernism in America.

The majority of the works in this exhibition come from the esteemed Renee & Chaim Gross Foundation. Chaim Gross, a renowned American sculptor known for his dynamic wood and bronze sculptures, was a close friend of Castellón and acquired some of the best examples of the artist’s work. Gross delivered the eulogy at Castellón's funeral, speaking of his friend with profound admiration: “In his life and art, there was not a single fraudulent note. He was an artist fiercely loyal to his own ideas, never a painter of fashion, he stood firmly amidst small tides and storms, determined to ride out his life within his own vision.” This deep personal and artistic bond between Gross and Castellón is reflected in the breadth and quality of the works in the Foundation’s collection.

Julian Dawes is the Head of Impressionist and Modern Art and Co-Head of Marquee Auctions for Sotheby’s in the Americas. Since joining Sotheby’s in 2008, Julian has helped lead his team to unprecedented market-share in the category, initially overseeing cataloguing and research and later running the semiannual Day Sales in New York.

Over the years Mr. Dawes has curated highly successful private selling exhibitions including 2014’s Rudolf Bauer: Tomorrow Today, 2015’s Cherchez la Femme: Women and Surrealism, and 2017’s Iconoplastic: 100 Years of De Stijl, all of which sought to spotlight lesser-known and undervalued artists via new scholarship and innovative exhibition design. In November 2018 he organized The Beautiful and Damned: Radical Art of the Great War, a curated catalogue and exhibition to commemorate the centennial of the WW1 armistice. In addition to significant private transactions, Julian’s focus on Surrealism and Abstraction has played a key role in achieving world auction records for René Magritte, Francis Picabia, Frida Kahlo, Dorothea Tanning, Kay Sage, Leonor Fini, Enrico Donati, Leonora Carrington, Kurt Seligmann, Rudolf Bauer and Fritz Glarner, among others.

Prior to joining Sotheby’s, Mr. Dawes worked at Rago Arts and Auction Center in his native New Jersey, as a Triage Appraiser on Antiques Roadshow and in the Education Department at The Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Duke in Art History and lives in Brooklyn with his wife and two children.

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