Butterfly Time III: A group exhibition of women in Surrealism

Richard Saltoun Gallery is pleased to present Butterfly Time: Part III, the final instalment of its three-part series marking the centenary of Surrealism. Named after a seminal work by the Czech artist Toyen, this series brings together key figures from the Surrealist movement, celebrating its far-reaching legacy through an international lens.

Butterfly Time: Part III showcases the works of Max KLINGER (1857–1920, Germany), Maria MARTINS (1894–1973, Brazil), and TOYEN (1902, Czechia – 1980, France), offering a diverse exploration of Surrealist themes and innovations.

At the forefront of this presentation is the work of Toyen, a pioneering figure in the Czech avant-garde and Surrealist movements. Born Marie Čermínová in Prague, Toyen defied gender norms by adopting a gender-neutral name, becoming a central figure in the Devětsil artistic group. Initially influenced by Cubism and Purism, Toyen, alongside Jindřich Štyrský, developed Artificialism, a unique visual language that transcended mere representation and explored abstract forms and poetic memory. This approach evolved further in the 1930s, as Toyen embraced surrealism, producing enigmatic and dreamlike imagery that delved into eroticism and the unconscious mind.

Despite the turbulence of the Nazi occupation, Toyen’s resilience allowed them to preserve and protect both their own work and that of fellow artists. Relocating to Paris after World War II, they immersed themselves in the Surrealist community, collaborating with the movement’s luminaries, including André Breton, Salvador Dalí, and Max Ernst. Their work continued to explore themes of gender, politics, and eroticism, often through haunting depictions of war’s dehumanising effects. Toyen’s later works focused on isolation, existential dread, and the complexities of the human psyche, offering profound insights into the inner workings of the mind.

Brazilian sculptor Maria Martins (1894–1973) is another highlight of the exhibition. A prominent figure within the Surrealist circle in New York, Martins was deeply influenced by both Western European art and the indigenous cultures of the Amazon. Her nomadic life and time spent with Surrealists such as André Breton, Max Ernst, and Marcel Duchamp shaped her distinctive approach to sculpture. Her works, often abstract and phantasmagorical, are known for their complex and sometimes erotic depictions of the female body, infused with Amazonian mythologies. Martins' Cabeça de Medusa [Medusa’s Head] (circa 1946) reinterprets the mythological gorgon in a way that challenges traditional representations of women, using proto-feminist imagery to confront themes of power and identity.

Max Klinger (1857–1920),  recognised as a pivotal precursor to Surrealism, first achieved critical recognition in Berlin with his Paraphrase über den Fund eines Handschuhs, a print series executed in 1880 and published by F. Felsing in Munich and later self-published in Berlin. The ten prints, produced in five editions throughout the late 19th century, unfold a loosely structured, fantastical narrative that begins with the artist retrieving a glove dropped by a woman at a skating rink. In the sequence that follows, Klinger’s dream transports the glove through a surreal series of events—lost at sea, stolen by a giant bird—evoking the capriciousness of the subconscious and the unexpected.

This series, which soon became emblematic of Klinger’s oeuvre, exemplifies his exploration of the tensions between reality and imagination, particularly through the lens of bourgeois morality and the female body. Klinger’s innovative use of various intaglio techniques, including etching, drypoint, and aquatint, enabled him to address complex social themes, such as the fraught dynamics of gender and class. His work, both socially critical and allegorical, resonates with the concerns of modern life in late 19th-century Europe, anticipating many of the themes that would later be fully explored by the Surrealists.

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