Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe Now
The new “Dalí Alive” digital art exhibition at the Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields includes El Mercado Surreal, a cafe inspired by Spanish surrealist painter Salvador Dalí.
Food and beverages were part of Dalí’s artistry, illustrated in his 1973 cookbook “Les Diners de Gala.” One of Dalí’s cocktail recipes, the Casanova, caught the attention of El Mercado Surreal mixologist Caleb Gwin.
Gwin tweaked the Casanova, a brandy-based drink featuring bitter and herbal notes, to create the “Canvasnova” now served at Newfields.
“I see this as being something fiery and passionate, just like Dalí,” Gwin said. “The flavors are bold and in your face, and unafraid to say, ‘I am trying to do something different, and I think there’s a market for this. But I don’t need complete social acceptance of it.’”
“Dalí Alive” opened March 3 at the Lume digital galleries, where the scent Patchouli Blanc is part of the multisensory experience. The gift shop includes the “Les Diners de Gala” cookbook among its offerings.
Dalí (1904-1989) used imagery of melting pocket watches and optical-illusion skulls to captivate audiences while he became a larger-than-life celebrity.
“Dalí Alive” is the third digital art exhibition at the Lume at Newfields, following projections of Van Gogh paintings—which attracted a record-setting 235,000 attendees from July 2021 to May 2022—and projections of paintings by Monet and other impressionists from July 2022 to May 2023.
In contrast to Van Gogh and Monet, two artists associated with depicting scenes of the 19th century, Dalí was a 20th century sensation who explored the subconscious in his work.
The projections of art in “Dalí Alive” are segmented chronologically by time the artist spent in France (1929 to 1939), the United States (1940 to 1949) and his home country of Spain (1949 to 1989).
Scheduled to take over the Lume for 12 months, “Dalí Alive” features more than 100 projectors covering 30,000 square feet of surface area. Attendees watch the 40-minute show while seated on benches, along walls and on the floor.
Jonathan Berger, vice president of marketing and external affairs at Newfields, said he expects “Dalí Alive” will attract first-time visitors to the Lume.
“I think it’s a different audience than Van Gogh and Monet,” Berger said.
Australia-based Grande Experiences, the digital art company that creates Lume exhibitions, presented “Dalí Alive” for the first time in suburban Denver in October 2022.
The Newfields version showcases four Dalí paintings that are part of the Indianapolis Museum of Art’s collection. The pieces are displayed in a traditional gallery near the conclusion of a visitor’s journey through the fourth-floor Lume.
“Tragedy and Comedy,” “Apotheosis,” “The Elephants” and “Musicians” are watercolors, each about 30 inches by 30 inches, that Dalí painted in 1961 as the basis for stage backdrops for a European opera titled “The Spanish Lady and the Roman Cavalier.”
Surrealist hallmarks of the artist, including elephants supported by spindly legs and a damaged cello serving as a human torso, are seen in the paintings donated to the Indianapolis Museum of Art in the 1970s.
Opera singer Lorenzo Alvary produced “The Spanish Lady and the Roman Cavalier” and hired Dalí to design five sets for the show that played in Venice, Brussels, and Paris in 1961 and 1962.
Alvary, who sang in a 1948 production of “Don Giovanni” at Indiana University, and his wife, La Porte native Hallie Alvary, chose the Indianapolis Museum of Art as the recipient of four of the five paintings.
The museum displayed the watercolors in 1975 and 1979. “Dali Alive” allows a rediscovery of “Tragedy and Comedy,” “Apotheosis,” “The Elephants” and “Musicians,” Berger said.
For 45 years, the paintings were stored among the museum’s 20,000 works on paper, said Anna Stein, assistant curator of works on paper at Newfields.
“I think there had been a possibility of using them in an exhibition about 10 years ago, but it fell through,” Stein said. “Almost every time we do a show it’s a great opportunity to pull out something you hadn’t looked closely at.”
The present location of the fifth set-design painting is unknown.
“I am hoping that from all of the excitement about this show, maybe someone will say, ‘Oh, yeah, I have that hanging in my living room,’” Berger said. “It would be great if we could reunite them all.”
Before “Dalí Alive” visitors reach the cafe and the little-seen watercolor paintings, they will see the artist’s ants, airplanes and melting pocket watches in motion on the floor and walls of the Lume.
The exhibition includes jumbo representations of Dalí paintings “The Persistence of Memory,” “Metamorphosis of Narcissus” and “Swans Reflecting Elephants”—major works from the 1930s.
Photos of Dalí are part of the show, as his celebrity straddled Hollywood’s black-and-white era and the colorful swinging ’60s.
Sadie Arft, curatorial assistant for works on paper and European art at Newfields, said Dalí’s perspective has enduring appeal.
“Surrealism speaks to the unconscious mind, in imagery and the mutability of forms,” Arft said. “Everyone experiences that in the dream world. Even though Dalí may not be exactly what one envisions in the dream world, people can relate to that aspect of it.”
Newfields is seeking a CEO to succeed Colette Pierce Burnette, who led the art museum and gardens from August 2022 until an abrupt and unexplained departure in November 2023.
Newfields has provided no explanation for Burnette’s exit, citing a policy of not discussing the details of internal employment matters.
Berger declined to answer questions on the topic while being interviewed at a “Dalí Alive” preview event.
‘Dalí Alive’
- When: March 3 to March 2, 2025, closed on Mondays
- Where: Newfields, 4000 Michigan Road
- Tickets: $29, or $22 for Newfields members
- Info: Visit discovernewfields.org.
Please enable JavaScript to view this content.
Not a huge fan of his work.
We atteded on Saturday and found the presentation to be a stunning display of the work over the many years of Dali’s life. A fasinating preentation that I would recomend to all.