Our group chose magical realism art because we like how this style of art fiction personifies a view of the modern world while adding magical elements. The term magical realism was invented by a German photographer, art critic Franz Roh in 1925 to describe modern realist with fantasy or fantasy dream-like fantasy. Also known as magic realism, marvelous realism, fabulism, this type of art refers to the conventions of fables, myths, and allegory. Magical realism in literature refers to magic or the supernatural presented in the real world or mundane setting, commonly seen in novels and dramatic performances. It is also considered a subgenre of fantasy. Within this artwork of magical realism, the world is still grounded in the real world, but fantastical elements are considered normal in this world. Like fairy tales, magical realism novels and short fables blur the lines between fantasy and reality.
Alejo Carpentier defines it as, "an unexpected alteration of reality, an unaccustomed insight that is singularity favored by the unexpected richness of reality or amplification of the scale and categories of reality." More specifically, magical realism achieves its particular power by weaving together elements we tend to associate with the European realism and elements we associate with the fabulous, and these two worlds undergo a "closeness or near merging." Beginning in the 1940s and into the 1950s, certain realist painters such as Grant Wood, Ivan Albright, and Paul Cadmus began exploring aspects of magical realism. In 1942, the Museum of Modern Art in New York showcased Magical Realism in the Exhibition.
It featured works by a variety of artists, including Ivan Albright, Peter Blume, Edward Hopper, and Andrew Wyeth, who was at the beginning of his career. The museum issued a press release explaining that "Magical Realists try to convince us that extraordinary things are possible simply by painting them as if they existed, "The American artists refrained from depicting fantastic or magical content, and instead portrayed the mysterious, or uncanny. While never a unified group, the American Magic Realists including George Tooker and Honore Sharrer, continued to develop during the 1940s and 1950s, often in obscurity and overshadowed by the Abstract Expressionists.
The artists we chose were Tomek Setowski, Marcela Donoso, Rob Gonsalves, and Alexander Kandolt. Each artist we chose has their own style of magical realism in their paintings and artworks. Tomek Setowski is known worldwide as one of the most prominent representatives of the style called "Magical Realism".
Fairytale Characters, Underwater Worlds, Sky Cities, Beautiful Women, manifestations of his dreams form deep symbolism of magical realism. Marcela Donoso Concha is a Chilean painter in the Latin American current of Magical Realism. She demonstrated her creativity in other visual arts like books illustrations or films as Production Designer. Rob Gonsalves is a famous Canadian artist whose works are recognizable for their magic and optical illusions. Alexander Kandolt was a German magic realist painter and one of the artists of the New Objectivity.
