Surrealister

Surrealister is a term used in contemporary art criticism to describe artists, writers, and filmmakers who draw on surrealist techniques and sensibilities without necessarily identifying with a formal movement. The label tends to be applied flexibly, covering a range of practices that prioritize dreamlike logic, uncanny imagery, and juxtapositions that challenge rational explanation.

Origins of the word are informal. It is a portmanteau of surrealism and -ist, and its exact first usage is unclear; it began appearing in online criticism, exhibition catalogues, and academic essays from the late 20th century onward as critics sought a way to discuss contemporary practitioners who echo surrealist ideas.

Surrealister practices include automatic processes, free association, montage, metamorphosis, and the deliberate subversion of expectations. Works are often built around incongruous pairings, altered perceptions, and narratives that resist straightforward interpretation. The approach is media-agnostic, spanning painting, sculpture, photography, digital art, video, and literary prose.

Critically, surrealister is not a formal school or organization. Rather, it is a descriptive label used to signal continuity with surrealism’s interest in the irrational and the unconscious, while allowing for new media and contemporary themes. Some critics emphasize lineage to classic surrealism, others view surrealister works as a 21st‑century extension that incorporates postmodern irony and cultural hybridity.

See also: Surrealism, Dada, Magic realism, Postmodernism, Automatic writing.