Surrealist Space Invasion

From Aliens to Mona Lisa Stripping This Painter’s Work Will Blow Your Mind

Lorenzo Alessandri is known as the father of Italian Surrealism. In 1964 he coined the phrase “Surfanta” to describe the movement: a combination of fantasy and surrealism.

He opened his first studio after WWII ended. At that time he was already dabbling in the other-worldly, horror and occult.

The new movement he headed in the 60’s took the genre to the strange extreme.

We won’t show his strangest–much of it is not “family friendly” enough for this site. (So be forewarned should you choose to search for more of his work online.)

Throughout his career, Alessandri had a fascination with grotesque sexuality. He utilized a variety of subjects for the theme, including sentient genitals, anthropomorphic animals and horrifyingly lewd monsters. Not all of his prurient material was disgusting though—there was also his campy “groovy chick” phase, which often featured regular pin-up style ladies in surreal settings. Sometimes the babes themselves were psychedelic—often a shade of electric blue, and sometimes they hung out with his occult characters or his sex-monsters (though they stop short of doing anything hardcore).

Alessadri also uses his art as a platform for social commentary. He paints farcical images of KKK, atom bombs and war images that include skeletons.

While the imagery may be deemed surrealism, it also harkens back to the days of Brugge, Michelangelo and any number of Renaissance painters attempting to depict the horrors of Hell.

Others, seem more fantasy and less horror. The one below makes me wonder if even the creators of the characters in the movie Monsters, Inc might have found a little inspiration in this Italian surrealist painter.

 

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Read more on Lorenzo Alessandri at Dangerous Minds