The art of the surreal
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Fantastical works that highlight the contrast between what is real and what is not is a mainstay of surreal art. Reuters photographers have documented many examples of surreal artwork and people enjoying it over the years as seen in this collection of images.
Pictured above is a woman photographing art installation "Alice" by Spanish artist Cristina Lucas in the Andalusian Centre of Contemporary Art in Seville.
A visitor views an installation at the Danish and the Nordic pavilion during the vernisage of the 53rd Biennale International Art Exhibition in Venice.
A taxidermied Jack Russell terrier titled "I'm Dead (2010)" by David Shrigley is displayed at the Hayward Gallery in London.
A sculpture of a dog is displayed in an exhibition called "Pinta canes" (Painted dogs) in La Pintana on the outskirts of Santiago.
"Ants," a work by Colombian artist Rafael Gomez Barros, covers the National Congress in Bogota. Gomez said the ants symbolise the people displaced by the continuing armed conflict in Colombia.
A piece by artist David Mach entitled 'Out of Order' shows a row of traditional English red phone boxes in Kingston.
Artist Vincent J.F. Huang's installation "Suicide Penguins,” a comment on global warming using glass penguins and a stuffed toy polar bear, hangs below the Millennium Bridge in London.
A man stands next to a piece of artwork titled "Bipolar Perversion" by Belgian mix media artist Pascal Bernier, at the Botanique exhibition hall in Brussels.
A group of schoolgirls look at a sculpture entitled "Wild man" by Australian sculptor Ron Mueck at the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne.
A visitor looks at a monumental sculpture by artist Robert Therrien in the newly opened Metropolitan Arts Centre in Belfast.
A security guard jokingly inspects the back of a self-portrait entitled "Mask II" by Australian sculptor Ron Mueck at the Royal Scottish Academy in Edinburgh.
A statue by Tony Matelli titled "Sleepwalker" stands in the snow on the campus of Wellesley College in Massachusetts.
A visitor looks at "Divide" by Australian sculptor Sam Jinks, made of resin, silicon and horse hair, during a preview of the Art Stage Singapore at Marina Bay Sands Convention and Exhibition Centre in Singapore.
A sculpture titled "Self-Stretch (Variation 3)" by artist Evan Penny is seen on display at the Melbourne Art Fair.
Student visitors pose from inside an installation titled "Crawling from the Wreckage" as part of British-born and Hong Kong-based Simon Birch's solo art exhibition "Hope & Glory" in Hong Kong.
Visitors walk on "Tiger and Turtle - Magic Mountain", by Ulrich Gerth and Heike Mutter, a 20-metre (66 ft) high and 120 ton (109,000 kg) heavy galvanised curved steel sculpture that looks like a roller coaster, in Duisburg.
A visitor views a sculptural installation by British artist Antony Gormley in Shanghai. 'Asian Field' is comprised of 192,000 clay figures, made under the guidance of Gormley, by over 300 people of all ages.
Irish sculptor Patrick O'Reilly poses with his piece Haystack,’ in his studio which is a deconsecrated Redemptoristine Monastery in Dublin.
Cuban artist Roberto Fabelo's sculptures of cockroaches with human faces climb up the facade of the Museo de Bellas Artes during an exhibition in Havana.
A detail from artwork "The Sum of All Evil" by artists Jake and Dinos Chapman is seen at the Jerwood Gallery in Hastings.
