Real, Surreal, and Photoreal

NCMA invites visitors into a world where reality is uncertain, dreams take shape, and the line between fact and imagination disappears. From dreamlike landscapes and uncanny portraits to images so exact they look like photographs, these works challenge what we see and what we believe.

Before abstraction took the spotlight in the mid-twentieth century, American art was defined by Realism — artists captured the world as they saw it. As abstraction rose, Realism never disappeared; it evolved. Though Realism is often overlooked in conventional approaches to the twentieth century’s aesthetic progress, it will have center stage in this exhibition, exploring how artists across generations have reimagined “the real” in strikingly different ways.

From the urban grit of The Eight and the Ashcan School to the mind-twisting visions of Surrealism and the razor-sharp precision of Photorealism, the exhibition spans more than a century of innovation in representation. Visitors will encounter everything from Magic Realism and Dream Surrealism to Pop, Hyperrealism, and Fool-the-Eye painting. These modes have enabled artists to engage the world, documenting the visual specifics of everyday life with unforgettable images. While their motives and results differ widely, their works communicate a poignant commentary on the times, delivering insight and understanding into the world around us.