{"id":1364,"date":"2026-10-12T17:44:24","date_gmt":"2026-10-12T16:44:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sirenmag.net\/?p=1364"},"modified":"2026-10-12T18:49:56","modified_gmt":"2026-10-12T17:49:56","slug":"the-mind-loves-the-unknown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sirenmag.net\/index.php\/2026\/10\/12\/the-mind-loves-the-unknown\/","title":{"rendered":"The Mind Loves the Unknown"},"content":{"rendered":"

Magritte at the Gagosian London<\/h2>\n

\u201c<\/span>The mind loves the unknown. It loves images whose meaning is unknown, since the meaning of the mind itself is unknown.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span>
\n\u2015 <\/span>Ren\u00e9 Magritte<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
The Philosopher’s Lamp<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Great artists endure. DADA and the surrealists have contributed hugely to the zeitgeist of the 20th<\/sup> and 21st<\/sup> centuries. From films to advertising, their tactic of \u201cmaking strange\u201d is utilised by creators extensively, to attract eyeballs for both art and commerce. I suspect some of the surrealists would be horrified by this, although others – like a reincarnated Salvador Dali – would be influencer types lusting for views, traffic and clicks…<\/p>\n

This Is Still Not a Pipe<\/h2>\n

The Afterlife of Magritte<\/p>\n

September 24\u2013December 12, 2026<\/p>\n

Gagosian Grosvenor Hill, London<\/p>\n

\"\"
A view of the exhibition<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This is a rare opportunity to see close-up many iconic Magritte images. He was, justifiably, one of the greats of modern art. I had always wondered how he created his \u201chyper-realistic\u201d paintings, and was surprised to find that they were just meticulous oil on canvas. Up close you can see the brushstrokes and weave of the material. They work most effectively when you are farther away.<\/p>\n

\"\"
The Equator<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

These paintings still are able to startle and amaze even now. They are a fencing-thrust into your consciousness despite the familiarity of many pictures. They still provoke thoughtfulness as their creator intended.<\/p>\n

\"\" \"\"<\/p>\n

Artwork \u00a9 Dana Schutz; \u00a9 2026 ADAGP, Paris and DACS; \u00a9 Jill Mulleady; \u00a9 Talia Chetrit; \u00a9 Anna Weyant; \u00a9 Alex Da Corte; \u00a9 Isabelle Albuquerque; \u00a9 Rachel Harrison; \u00a9 Mona Hatoum; \u00a9 Nairy Baghramian; \u00a9 Jordan Wolfson; \u00a9 Jeff Koons; \u00a9 Sarah Lucas\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span>Photos: Julian Jackson.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The exhibition also has works by other, more modern, artists influenced by Magritte. These pieces are less successful as I felt their artistry was inferior compared to the master. A silvered train set and some \u201cshocking\u201d depictions of women’s’ bodies doesn’t fall into the same category. Magritte didn’t bother with anything so tawdry.<\/p>\n

Some of his later paintings are on show, where he pivoted to a different style. They do not seem to have the majesty of his earlier achievements. However it was pleasing to see where he went after his \u201cclassic\u201d period.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Triumphant March<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Apparently he did these inferior works to annoy people. Very surrealist.<\/p>\n

The surrealists remain a powerful impetus in creative endeavours. Magritte towers above the contemporary art scene and it is great to see so many of his works together.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Magritte at the Gagosian London \u201cThe mind loves the unknown. It loves images whose meaning is unknown, since the meaning of the mind itself is… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1372,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_FSMCFIC_featured_image_caption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_nocaption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_hide":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33,39],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1364","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts-culture","category-visual-arts"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sirenmag.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1364","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sirenmag.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sirenmag.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sirenmag.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sirenmag.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1364"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/sirenmag.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1364\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1375,"href":"https:\/\/sirenmag.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1364\/revisions\/1375"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sirenmag.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1372"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sirenmag.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1364"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sirenmag.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1364"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sirenmag.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1364"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}