Jindrich Heisler : Surrealism under Pressure, 1938-1953

Czech poet and photographer Jindrich Heisler (1914-1953) joined the Czech Surrealist Group in 1938, just as Nazi occupation of the country was driving the movement and Czech artists underground. Heisler published his first book of poetry a year later. In his brief and courageous career-Heisler died suddenly at the age of thirty-eight-he produced some of the most remarkable assemblage work of the Surrealist movement, including what is arguably the single-most important photobook produced in the 20th century, From the Strongholds of Sleep (1940-41). This gorgeously illustrated volume-with eighty color images of Heisler's assemblage pieces-introduces English-speaking audiences to his work, translating many of his writings for the first time and offering in-depth analysis of his postwar years in Paris in the company of Andre Breton, Benjamin Peret, the illustrator Toyen, and other major figures of the Surrealist movement.