SOLIHULL’S links to the Surrealist art movement will be celebrated this Spring with a new exhibition in the town centre.
Surreal Solihull takes as its starting point the work of the borough’s pioneering surrealist artist and poet Emmy Bridgwater who founded and worked with the Birmingham Surrealists throughout the 1930s and 40s.
As well as featuring several pieces painted, collaged and drawn by Emmy Bridgwater, 30 local artists have been commissioned to create new Surrealist art works which will be shown for the first time at the exhibition.
Contemporary artist, Helen Grundy, who regularly exhibits around the world, was thrilled to have been selected.
She said: “Emmy Bridgwater was an important part of the Surrealist movement and I am delighted she is being rediscovered and her work is finding a new audience.
“My piece Bird Land is a homage to her work and promotes my belief that she is an inspiration to modern artists. In my piece she is a hybrid – part human, part bird – and she towers over a surreal imagined landscape that represents a dreamlike version of Solihull.”
The free to visit event, which runs from March 6 to 31 in an outdoor gallery on Solihull High Street has been developed thanks to funding from West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) and in partnership with Solihull Council, Visit Solihull, The Mayor Gallery in London, the Emmy Bridgwater Estate and Solihull BID.
Councillor Wazma Qais, cabinet member for communities, said: “The Surrealist Manifesto was published just over 100 years ago in 2024, but Surrealist art continues to influence contemporary art, fashion and interior design.
“Surreal Solihull will shine a light on Solihull’s very own Surrealist, Emmy Bridgwater, and also provide a space for emerging and established contemporary local artists to engage with this exciting and thought- provoking art movement. I am excited to see what they will produce!”
