The Dalí Universe is more than just a collection of artworks. It’s more than a traveling museum. Founded by art dealer and collector Beniamino Levi, this ambitious international project offers a multidimensional experience that blends art, nature, technology, education, and solidarity.
In recent years, the Dalí Universe has launched impactful initiatives throughout Italy, proving that art can be experienced beyond the traditional boundaries of museums.
Salvador Dalí was never just a painter. He was a total artist; an untiring interpreter of dreams, obsessions, and the symbols of the unconscious. He moved effortlessly between painting, sculpture, writing, design, film, and even gastronomy, helping to create a surrealist aesthetic that united the visible with the imagined.
The Dalí Universe embraces this vision of art, curating experiences that highlight the playful, emotional, and philosophical dimensions of Dalí’s work. Its exhibitions present the Dalí Universe Collection in unique, multisensory formats; where art becomes a stage, and the viewer is invited to actively participate in the imagination of the Master of Surrealism.
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Among its most innovative projects, “Dalí and Albarella: The Surrealist Island” took place in 2024 in the extraordinary natural setting of Albarella, a private island nestled in 528 hectares of nature reserve within the UNESCO-listed Po Delta. The exhibition showcased twelve monumental sculptures created by Salvador Dalí, placed along a scenic route designed by architect Simone Squarcina, where art seamlessly blended with the landscape in a continuous dialogue between creativity and nature.
Visitors were able to explore the dreamlike world of Dalí by bicycle, riding through lagoons, paths, and immersive installations; turning the exhibition into both a physical and mental journey. Special guided days and cycling itineraries were organized for off-island visitors, opening the doors of Surrealism to a wide and diverse audience.
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In Modena, at the Palazzo dei Musei, the ongoing exhibition “Inside the Mind of the Master – Salvador Dalí: Art and Psyche” delves into the connections between Dalí’s imagination and 20th-century psychoanalytic theories. Curated by Beniamino Levi and supported by the city council, the exhibition has already welcomed over 26,000 visitors.
One of the most powerful and moving moments came from an inclusive project developed in partnership with Lega del Filo d’Oro. During a special event, volunteers from the foundation experienced a blindfolded guided tour, gaining insight into the sensory world of people who are deafblind.
Through touch, they “saw” Dalí’s sculptures, discovering textures and forms often overlooked by sight alone. This initiative, repeated in December 2024 with the foundation’s participants, sent a powerful message: art is for everyone, including those who experience the world in different ways.
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Still in Modena, the Dalí Universe partnered with Fondazione ANT to host an event that combined psychological introspection and surrealist art. Psychologist Silvia Varani led a thought-provoking conference, followed by a visit to the Dalí exhibition. The goal was to raise funds for a new vehicle to transport cancer patients, demonstrating how culture can serve as a powerful means of genuine and practical solidarity.
The event created a symbolic bridge between Dalí’s thought, so rich in symbolism and reflection on identity, and the social mission of caring for human fragility, turning an evening of art into a collective gesture of care.
Looking back, it-s worth recalling the stunning 2019 exhibition “The Persistence of Opposites” in Matera, a UNESCO World Heritage city. Held in the ancient rock-hewn churches of Madonna delle Virtù and San Nicola dei Greci, the exhibition offered a poetic and powerful contrast between the millennia-old stone and the conceptual lightness of Surrealism.
Dalí’s art found new meaning in the City of Stones, where time, memory, and the mysteries of the mind echoed off ancient rock walls, bridging past and imagination.
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The Dalí Universe is also a dynamic educational project. Its teaching programs engage students of all ages, encouraging creative paths that nurture critical thinking and imagination. Using augmented reality, virtual reality, and multimedia tools, Dalí Universe exhibitions become fully immersive and interactive, fostering a deeper connection with the artwork.
Dalí, a lover of paradoxes and metamorphoses, would likely have appreciated this technological evolution in how we experience art, where the visitor is no longer just a spectator but an active participant in the creative process.
With passion and vision, the Dalí Universe shows that art can be accessible, educational, inclusive, and deeply human. Whether it’s a surreal bike ride on an island, a sculpture explored through touch, a dinner inspired by Les dîners de Gala, or a conference sparking social action, every project is an invitation to enter the mind of the Master of Surrealism and come out transformed.
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