Image: San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art will present ‘Unsung Surrealists: Wolfgang Paalen and Alice Rahon’ on Thursday, September 10, 2026, at 6 p.m. The talk will take place in the Phyllis Wattis Theater on Floor 1.
Scholars Alexander Nemerov and Megan Kincaid will discuss Paalen and Rahon, artists with historical ties to SFMOMA. Paalen and Rahon were married from 1934 to 1947. Rahon, a poet who became a painter, received her first solo exhibition at SFMOMA in 1945. Paalen founded the Dynaton movement, which brought together cosmic, scientific and transcendental ideas with modern art.
The event coincides with the 75th anniversary of SFMOMA’s 1951 presentation of ‘Dynaton,’ which introduced Paalen’s movement to the public. Nemerov and Kincaid will address the artists’ connections with Surrealist circles in Europe, as well as their encounters with the landscapes and visual cultures of British Columbia, Alaska and Mexico.
Marin Sarvé-Tarr, assistant curator of painting and sculpture at SFMOMA, will introduce the programme. Gallery Wendi Norris is co-presenting the talk. Artworks listed for the event include Rahon’s ‘Pluie’ (1942) and Paalen’s ‘Paysage totémique’ (1937).
