LONDON.- Shapero Modern is opening a Dalí exhibition in the Bond Street Gallery on 25th November. The exhibition will include a wide range of works by the Spanish surrealist, but the rarest work on view is 'The Twelve Tribes of Israel' (1973), a complete set of etchings with handcolouring by Dali with a seven-figure asking price. It presents a strikingly surreal interpretation of biblical prophecy, fusing religious symbolism with the dream logic of the unconscious. Salvador Dalí, known for his bizarre surrealist style inspired by Freudian theories of the subconscious, reimagines scriptural emblems using the same techniques and aesthetics that appear in his wide and complex oeuvre.
In 'The Twelve Tribes of Israel', Dalí draws on Jacob’s predictions for his sons and leaders of each tribe in Genesis, and Moses’ blessings in Deuteronomy. The interaction of the tribes' symbols with the landscape lends the piece its eccentric qualities, creating a sense of dissonance and irregularity. Each tribe is depicted through vivid, unnatural colour, exaggerated scale, and dynamic form, crafting symbolic scenes in which the literal and the metaphoric converge.
Working with the intertwined themes of exile and return, icons and faith, Dalí created a suite of images that commemorate the biblical tribes and their ancestral regions. The compositions convey a sense of movement and pilgrimage: transient figures traverse luminous, expanding landscapes framed by mountains and monuments that evoke the geography and character of each tribe. Beneath the bright, celebratory colour lies a quiet tension, an awareness of impermanence and displacement. Erratic, sketch-like monochrome figures animate the scenes with restlessness and energy. The incongruent style of the unstable figures and the softly coloured, simplified backgrounds resonate with the historical moment in which the works emerged, one that witnessed the return of dispersed communities to a reimagined national landscape. Salvador Dalí created it in commemoration of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the State of Israel.
The following week, Shapero Modern is set to make its sixth appearance at Miami’s premier contemporary and modern art fair ART MIAMI 2025 (2-7 December). The longest-established and most prestigious event of its kind in Miami, consistently garners acclaim for its exceptional and diverse art offerings and attracts discerning collectors, curators, museum directors, and interior designers, offering an exclusive insight into some of the most significant works leading the global contemporary art scene.
This year, Shapero Modern will be showing a rare, complete set of Pablo Picasso’s first suite of etchings ‘La Suite des Saltimbanques’, featuring the celebrated work ‘Le Repas Frugal’. An incredible selection of Modern Masters include works by Marc Chagall and Alexander Calder and Contemporary pieces by Jansson Stegner, Louise Bonnet and Richard Pettibone. Shapero Modern's stand is AM320, right in front of the VIP Collectors Lounge.
