WHAT: “In Wonderland: The Surrealist Adventures of Women Artists in Mexico and the United States”

WHEN: Through May 6, Monday, Tuesday and Thursday Noon – 8 p.m., Friday Noon – 9 p.m., Saturday and Sunday 11 a.m. – 8 p.m. 

WHERE: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 5905 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles

WHY THIS SHOW MATTERS: LACMA is making sure women Surrealists get their due, thanks to their newest exhibition focused on female contributions to the genre. While Dalí was making waves by painting his haunting dreams of emaciated elephants in oil, and Buñuel challenged the church in bracing films, a slew of women, mainly in North America and Mexico, were experiencing a surreal renaissance of their own. Featuring approximately 175 art works by 47 exclusively female artists, and covering four decades, this is an unprecedented show that blows apart the notion that surrealism was a male-driven movement. 

The museum has put together a massive survey, linking the analogy of Lewis Carroll’s children’s classic “Alice in Wonderland” to female participation in surrealism. While the show is filled with Frida Kahlos, and it is undeniable that her signature pain-induced, flat and bright paintings can be said to be one face of the North American surrealist movement, the late Dorothea Tanning’s artwork steals the show. Specifically striking for all the reasons that make this exhibition unique are several pieces: In “Birthday” (1942) she paints a self-portrait of herself as a bare-breasted sorceress in colorful organic garb, ushering us into an endless hall of open doors. Equally, her piece “Rainy Day Canapé” (1970), a fluid jumble of corporeal female forms on a love seat, stands out from the rest as we try to guess where the bodies end and the couch begins.

Also of note in "Wonderland" is Remedios Varo, who paints a witchy woman swathed in evergreen capes with misty hair in “Mujer saliendo del psicoanalista (Women Departing from the Psychoanalyst’s Office)” (1960), a work which lends itself well to themes of women possessing power and enlightenment through the exploration of dreams. Ultimately, this trippy show serves its purpose, and the powerful creative force of these artists is felt in otherworldly imagery that bursts from the galleries. 

To see works from “In Wonderland: The Surrealist Adventures of Women Artists in Mexico and the United States” at LACMA, click on the slide show.