Exhibition | Worlds Gone and to Come
Date and Time
- Thu, Sep 10, 2026 - Sat, Oct 24, 2026
Location
Gallery Wendi Norris
436 Jackson St
Details
Gallery Wendi Norris presents a historical exhibition featuring rarely seen paintings and works on paper by Wolfgang Paalen and Alice Rahon. Marking the first time their artistic output has been displayed together in a dedicated two-person show, the presentation highlights their mutual impact on twentieth-century art. To celebrate the opening, the gallery and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art will co-present a public panel conversation on September 10 at SFMOMA.
About the Exhibit
The exhibition explores how Paalen and Rahon transcended the original dogmas of European Surrealism to forge their own visionary abstract styles. Visitors will see works ranging from Paalen’s candle-soot fumage technique to Rahon’s textured, sedimentary canvases infused with sand and volcanic rock. Together, these pieces showcase how both artists utilized visual art as a form of cosmic excavation to unearthing hidden forms, rich colors, and dynamic energies.
About the Artists
Husband and wife from 1934 to 1947, Paalen and Rahon fled Europe in 1939 and eventually settled in Mexico among a vibrant community of émigré Surrealists. Paalen made foundational contributions to French Surrealism, published the influential art journal Dyn, and later co-founded the Bay Area's Dynaton movement in an effort to invent a new form of abstraction. Rahon transitioned from an accomplished Surrealist poet into a prolific visual artist, developing a unique tactile iconography built from natural media, indigenous artistic influences, and ancient cave art.