Michael Murphy Gallery to present 'Dali: The Argillet Collection' | Tampa Bay Newspapers Exhibit Feature

TAMPA — “Salvador Dali: The Argillet Collection” will be on exhibition and available for acquisition beginning Thursday, Sept. 16, at the Michael Murphy Gallery, 2701 MacDill Ave., Tampa.

The exhibition provides a rare opportunity to meet Madame Christine Argillet, daughter of Dali's legendary publisher and confidante Pierre Argillet, during scheduled special appearances. Argillet appearances will take place Saturday, Sept. 25, 1 to 3 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m.; and Sunday, Sept. 26, 1 to 3 p.m. All appearances are complimentary to the public. For information about this exhibition, call 813-902-1414 or email info@michaelmurphygallery.com. RSVPs are strongly recommended. To RSVP, visit www.eventbrite.com/e/salvador-dali-the-argillet-collection-tickets-165960505339.

Argillet is the curator of this Dali collection.

“My father began as a journalist with a true passion for Surrealism,” Argillet wrote in her forward to the exhibition catalog. “His relationship with Dali was as sincere as it was passionate. They had together long discussions on the art in process and on literary topics that Dali would then illustrate. Dali was a man who saw the world as one in which everything was linked. That view of the world is evident in each and every piece of his art, for him it was never a progression of the idea that all things have a shared link ... it was the common denominator ... Dali's philosophy, if you will.”

The Argillet Collection is the most authenticated collection of Dali's work throughout his career. The Pierre Argillet Collection demonstrates high standards of quality and the works have appeared in the world's most prestigious museums, including Musee Boymans, Rotterdam; Musee Pushkin, Moscow; Kunsthaus Zurich and Staatsgalarie, Stuttgart; Isetan Museum of Art, Tokyo; Daimaru Art Museum, Osaka and Hiroshima Prefectural Museum of Art, Japan. The collection's permanent home is at the Museum of Surrealism in Melun, France and the Dali Museum in Figueres, Spain.

Dali’s open-mindedness and innate ability to embrace a plethora of topics and themes can also be seen in his etchings and drawings, which address different topics, from religion to eroticism.

Argillet spent much of her childhood in the presence of Salvador Dali, and experienced his receptivity and broad-mindedness first-hand. Her presence in Tampa at the Michael Murphy Gallery the opening week of this exhibition will provide invaluable insights into the collaboration between her father and Dali, and works they produced together.

This exhibition and collection opportunity offers works from Dali's Suites, including Mythologie, Les Hippies, Goethe's Faust, and the incomparable Poemes Secrets d'Apollinaire. Argillet has also graciously included the rare titles, Etchings and Watercolors from 1934 to the late 1960s.

Argillet describes this exhibition as "a tribute to the work of my father, Pierre Argillet, as an extraordinary publisher of the Dada and Surrealist group. This collection reflects a constant endeavor and a close collaboration with the artists of these two movements, especially Salvador Dali. My goal is to have this collection presented in the finest museums and galleries in the world."

For more information about the exhibition, visit mmgart.com.