The Formless Gaze – Toward a Different Surrealism

In the latter half of the 1920s, the philosopher and writer Georges Bataille (1897–1962) gathered a group of surrealist artists and writers who had been excommunicated from the mainstream of surrealism by André Breton. This development resulted in a surrealist art that differed, both politically and artistically, from the main current of surrealism. Some of these differences are on display in the exhibition “The Subterranean Sky – Surrealism in the Moderna Museet Collection“.

This symposium will examine the aftermath of the surrealist movement and how ideas and concepts, first formulated by Bataille, affected the “informal art” that ensued when surrealism had lost its relevance.

In Sweden, this informal art was recognized by the critic Ulf Linde already in the 1960s but has since then largely been forgotten. What do these informal and materialistic artists convey to us today?

See the full programme here (in Swedish): Den formlösa blicken – mot en annan surrealism

Participants

Marcia Sá Cavalcante Schuback is Professor of Philosophy at Södertörn University. Her research explores the relationship between philosophy and aesthetics. Recent publications include “Att tänka i skisser” (2011), “The Fascism of Ambiguity” (2021), “Ex-Brasilis. Brev från pandemin” (2020), and “Time in Exile: In Conversation with Heidegger, Blanchot and Lispector” (2020).

Lena Essling is a Curator at Moderna Museet, specializing in moving images and performance. She is the curator of the exhibition “The Subterranean Sky – Surrealism in the Moderna Museet Collection.”

Hedvig Härnsten is a doctoral student in the Department of Literature at Stockholm University. Her dissertation examines gestures in modernist literature, with one chapter devoted to Henri Michaux’s “Mouvements” (1951), a work that combines ink drawings with a long poem about gesture.

Dan Karlholm is Professor of Art History at Södertörn University. His research focuses on the theory and history of art history. Recent publications cover topics such as assemblage theory, ecological art history, art and temporality, and the afterlife of artworks.

Andrea Kollnitz is Professor in Art History at Stockholm University. Her research is mainly focused on art, national identity and art-political discourses. Recent publications include “Fashion and Modernism” (2018) with Louise Wallenberg, and contributions in “Halmstadgruppen. Den svenska surrealismens pionjärer” (2024). During 2025 she will publish “Becoming Leonor Fini” at Bloomsbury Publishing.

Gustav Strandberg is a philosopher, translator, and writer affiliated with Södertörn University. He specializes in the work of Georges Bataille, whose writings he has also translated into Swedish.

Thale Vangen is an artist educated at the Academy of Art in Malmö, with a background in chemistry and biology. She creates sculptures and installations, often using natural materials such as rawhide, tallow, and wood. Her process is intuitive, spontaneous, and exploratory, centered on a silent dialogue with the materials—beyond rationality and the reach of language.