Salvador Dalí

SALVADOR DALÍ I DOMÈNECH (Figueras, Girona, 1904 - 1989).
"La suite catalane", 1954.
Series of 6 polychrome ceramic tiles: Los besos de fuego, Las guitarras, El sol vegetal, La estrella de mar, Las palomas and Los dardos.
Series published in Spain by Maurice Duchin in 1954.
In its original box.
Part of the cover is missing.
Bibliography: Design 1935-196 -Ce qui fut moderne, Musée des arts décoratifs de Montréal, Montreal, 1993, tiles referenced with nº 414 and reproduced on p. 266.
Measurements: 20 × 20 cm (each).

La suite catalane is part of Salvador Dalí's mature stage, when the artist expanded his surrealist language towards the decorative arts, integrating painting, design and craftsmanship. Made in 1954, this series of tiles reveals his interest in ceramics as an artistic medium, connecting with the Mediterranean tradition and, in particular, with Catalan culture, to which Dalí recurrently resorted as a symbolic and identity source.

Each piece presents an autonomous iconographic universe, populated by organic forms, moving signs and vibrant colors. Motifs such as the sun, the pigeons or the starfish refer to Dalí's imaginary, where the natural is transformed into a poetic and dreamlike symbol. The spontaneous stroke and rhythmic composition reinforce a playful and almost musical reading of the whole.

Maurice Duchin's edition of the series confirms Dalí's desire to spread his work beyond the canvas, transferring his language to everyday objects elevated to artistic status. The suite catalane thus exemplifies the fusion between art, design and tradition, and reflects Dalí's all-encompassing ambition to turn any medium into a vehicle for surrealist creation.