From February 5 to May 14, the Allentown Art Museum will present “Surrealism – Theater of the Mind” (“High Drama: Eugene Berman and the Legacy of the Melancholic Sublime” at the McNay Art Museum, San Antonio) in the Kress Gallery. This major display will be the largest Surrealist exhibition in the museum’s history and its first in 40 years.

The exhibit will feature more than 60 works of art, including such major artists as Giorgio de Chirico, Joseph Cornell, Salvador Dalí, Frida Kahlo, Dorothea Tanning and the collaborative group of photographers PaJaMa (Paul Cadmus, Jared French and Margaret French), along with a core group of work by Russian American painter and designer Eugene Berman (1899-1972). “Surrealism – Theater of the Mind” will bring together painting, drawing, collage, photography and sculpture with the theater arts. The exhibition also explores the Surrealist heritage, featuring work by contemporary artists like Cindy Sherman and John Wilde.

The McNay Art Museum owns one of the finest theater collections of any American art museum. Drawing on this collection, the exhibition features designs for stage sets and costumes used in major productions such as Mozart’s Don Giovanni and Bertolt Brecht’s Threepenny Opera.

According to David R. Brigham, the museum’s Priscilla Payne Hurd Executive Director, “This exhibition is unique in that it takes an international and cross-generational view of Surrealism, while also relating this important Twentieth Century style to the theater arts. These dimensions result in a visually rich, intellectually exciting exhibition.”

The exhibition will be celebrated with a costume-optional opening party on Saturday, February 11, from 6 to 8 pm.

Admission to the exhibition is $4 in addition to museum admission; museum members, children under 12 and active members of US armed forces (with appropriate ID) are admitted at no charge.

Surrealism is a period style that emerged in the 1920s, reflecting artists’ interest in exploring the human psyche in all its depth. These artists rebelled against the Cubists and other abstract artists who dominated the scene in the 1910s and 1920s.

Returning to a late Nineteenth Century interest in picturing strong emotion as well as dreams and explorations of the subconscious realm, they were responding to the sense of loss and nostalgia that prevailed during this period of economic depression and war. Similarly, the fallout of 1960s idealism and the AIDS epidemic, along with the tragedies of 9/11 and the war in Iraq, have left their mark on contemporary art, resulting in many works concerned with loss, disappointment and nostalgia.

Eugene Berman, American, born Russia (1899-1972). “Cassandra,” 1942-43, oil on canvas. Collection of the McNay Art Museum, gift of Robert L.B. Tobin.

Guest curator Michael Duncan organized the exhibition inconjunction with Jody Blake, curator of the Tobin Collection ofTheatre Arts at the McNay. Duncan is a corresponding editor forArt in America and a frequent contributor to Artform.

The museum is partnering with three Allentown cultural organizations to offer citywide multidisciplinary programming throughout the winter and spring, all revealing different facets of Surrealism.

The Baum School of Art will offer three adult workshops (“Cerealism: Create Collage Art from Consumer Goods Packaging,” “Jewelry: Surrealism to Where?” and “The Art of Collage Sculpture: An Exploration of Joseph Cornell”) and a children’s winter session, all focused on Surrealism. For information visit www.baumschool.org

From February 4 to April 14, the Lehigh County Historical Society will feature a special exhibition, “History of Concept Cars,” with a lecture on the topic by Kutztown University professor Dr Paul Sable on opening day at 11 am.

For information, visit www.lchs.museum.

Theatre Outlet will present “Cloud Tectonics” by José Rivera March 31 to April 15. Rivera is widely known for magic realism, an American style closely related to Surrealism. For information, visit www.theatreoutlet.org.

The Allentown Art Museum is part of a national tour of this exhibition, which includes the McNay, the Georgia Museum of Art, and the Long Beach Museum of Art. A full color exhibition catalog, High Drama: Eugene Berman and the Legacy of the Melancholic Sublime, will be available in the museum store.

The museum is at 31 North Fifth Street. For more information, www.allentownart museum.org or 610-432-4333.