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Sofitel Sydney Darling Harbour is excited to announce that it is home to a unique collection of authentic certified Salvador Dali bronze sculptures, exclusively published by The Dali Universe in Switzerland.  The collection valued at more than $300,000 comprises five pieces, three currently on display in the hotel foyer.

“Sofitel as a global luxury brand has a defined CSR commitment to making art and culture accessible to everyone”, said Greg Brady, General Manager, Sofitel Sydney Darling Harbour.

“This exhibition of Dali works is one of a kind in Australia and offers an amazing opportunity for our guests and local visitors to truly appreciate these pieces in a way not previously possible.  No queues and no entry charge, we encourage visitors to come in and see these unique pieces.”

“We are very thankful for the support of our owner Dr Jerry Schwartz in bringing this opportunity to us through Art Evolution.com, exclusive Salvador Dali dealer for Australasia”.

Art Notes:

Space Venus – Venus is the goddess of beauty, and Dalí pays homage to the female figure by adding his own special elements. The underlying form in this sculpture is of a classic marble statue of a female torso, to which have been added four Dalinian elements: a soft watch, an egg, two ants and a separation of the body into two parts. The watch is draped over the neck to give us two opposing messages; that beauty of the flesh is temporary and will vanish, while beauty of art is timeless and eternal. The ants are reminders of human mortality and impermanence. The Space Venus is divided into two parts to reveal the egg, which is a positive symbol and represents life, renewal, continuation and the future.

Space Elephant – The Space Elephant embodies the Dalinian symbol that was born in 1946 when the artist painted one of his most famous pictures ‘The Temptation of St. Anthony’. For this sculpture, based on the elephants in the original painting, Dalí maintains the almost invisible spindle like legs emphasizing the contrast between robustness and fragility, and contrasting the idea of weightlessness with structure. This fantastically surreal creature, moving through space towards the heavens, symbolizes a flight of fantasy to a mesmerizing and surrealistic universe.

Profile of Time – This sculpture echoes Dali’s famous 1931 painting. The Persistence of Memory in which the famous melted watch appeared for the first time. As the watch liquefies over the tree, it forms into a human profile, underlining the interminable relationship between man and time where all men must bend to the passing of time. We see Dali’s profile in the face of the clock. There is a tear falling from his eye, lamenting the path of life that all men must travel.

Horse Saddled with Time – The horse, one of the most famous Dalinian images, is saddled with Dalinian time: it is time which controls all of man’s passage. Man believes he is in control of the voyage, but it is always the man who is the ultimate rider. The famous melted watch is used in place of a normal saddle. This surrealist beast cannot be ridden or tamed by man, only admired for its beauty and perpetuity. The horse is portrayed as the representation of life weighed down and harnessed by time, symbolic of man’s fleeting voyage through life.

Alice in Wonderland – Alice is one of Dali’s favourite images. She is the eternal girl-child who responds to the confusion of the world behind the looking glass with the naivety of childhood. After all her meetings with the inhabitants of this fantastic world, she returns to reality not only unharmed but unchanged by her surrealistic experience. Looking at Dali’s sculpture we see that Alice’s jump rope has become a twisted cord symbolizing everyday life. Her hands and hair have blossomed into roses symbolizing feminine beauty and eternal youth. The Grecian drapes of her dress symbolize antiquity and the beauty that is respected throughout the ages.