WHY DALI?
I paint the Catalan artist Salvador Dalí as a tribute to this world-class, outstanding genius, and to help keep his legacy alive in today’s world.
In the midst of searching for the biggest change in my life and career, I stopped at a shop in Sitges, a small seaside town south of Barcelona, to buy a hat back in 2018. While talking about art with the shop owner, a very interesting and cultured hippie woman from the ’60s, she gave me the tip-off about the pearl of the Costa Brava: the must-see village of Cadaqués, where Dalí’s house is open to the public.
As a lifelong admirer of Salvador Dalí, I could not resist following her advice. Only a few weeks later, while on a road trip towards Barcelona, I decided to stop in Cadaqués and booked accommodation at the last minute.
I arrived late in the evening, in a pitch-black location, blindly driving by simply following Google Maps.
The following morning, after breakfast, I asked reception where Dalí’s house was situated and how to reach it. With a subtle smile, the receptionist brought me outside and pointed it out to me.
It was next door!
It wasn’t a coincidence. It was alignment rather, and the discovery of my life purpose and calling.
What I experienced at the Dalí Museum in Figueres was out of this world. An entire universe of mind-blowing masterpieces: from his beautiful illustrations to his paintings; from his sculptures to the various installations; from his short films to the whole jewellery wing of the museum, among so much more.
Hugely invigorated by this genius and his unique and incredible talent, I felt compelled to paint a portrait of Dalí, uncut, representing his raw, expressive persona.
However, I did not paint just one. I painted a trilogy of very different images, depicting three different sides of his eccentric personality.
THE TRILOGY
ODISSEA DALI was the first Dali I ever painted: an eclectic, surrealist interpretation of Dalí, representing the genius of the artist through the characteristic gaze of his eyes. His face is very hard, both in its expression and its lines. The canvas features a surreal appearance, resembling an old, restored piece of metal from which his pixelated-looking face emerges.
EL GENI, Catalan for ‘The Genius’, was my second interpretation of the Catalan genius Salvador Dalí. This painting represents the more feminine creative side of his eccentric personality. The gaze echoes the one in Odissea Dali, but the overall image is softer and calmer.
DANDY DALI was the last piece I created. It is my interpretation of a cool hipster: a young version of a flamboyant Dalí, representing the artist during his university time in Madrid.
Due to the demand for and originality of my unique interpretations, my Dali’s have now become art collectibles, attracting art collectors and returning buyers alike from around the world.
The Collection has progressively expanded from the initial original trilogy to a complete range of limited and mixed media editions, each edition is unique and mostly hand finished.
Inspired by Andy Warhol and his large scale commercial sterile series of the same image, I have decided to keep my repetitions limited and mostly personally hand finished – unique, in order to maximise the artistic value of each edition.
ULTIMATELY
I have painted my Salvador Dali’ tribute collection – portrait series, to keep his legacy alive, turning his eclectic face into a timeless iconic, contemporary new pop art statement.
Salvador Dali’ was a personal passion which ignited my career change, then turned into the obsession which fuelled the series global success.
– Alex Di Silvestro
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