Paris show examines Alberto Giacometti's surrealist period 
The "Femmes de Venise" sculpture series by Alberto Giacometti in Paris' Giacometti Institute. (DPA)


Despite his short time as a member of the surrealist movement between 1930 and 1935, Swiss sculptor Alberto Giacometti, best known for his attenuated sculptures of solitary figures, became one of the leading artists of this group. His innovative works have been exhibited in many prestigious institutions all around the world and have become some of the world's most valuable at various auctions.

Ninety years after the artist's brief surrealist spell, the Giacometti Institute in Paris is now shedding a new light on the relationship between the Swiss sculptor and poet Andre Breton, the founder of the surrealists, as well as the artistic and intellectual environment that surrounded this movement. The "Alberto Giacometti – Andre Breton, Surrealist Friendships" exhibition of the institute brings together several emblematic works from Giacometti's surrealist period and those of his fellow artists.

To explore this period, the institute is juxtaposing Giacometti's erotic and fantastical works created during this period with works by Hans Arp, Salvador Dali and Max Ernst. Also on display are numerous documents by important poets of the surrealist movement Paul Eluard and Tristan Tzara, as well as Breton.

"Alberto Giacometti – Andre Breton, Surrealist Friendships" is set to run until April 10.