Christina Heflin
Christina Heflin
Vita
Christina Heflin is Paris x Rome Fellow at the Bibliotheca Hertziana in Rome and at DFK in Paris examining Arturo Schwarz’s ambassadorial role in bringing French interwar Surrealism to post-World War II Italy. She was previously a postdoctoral teaching and research fellow at Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne where she also completed her master’s degree in photographic conservation research and collections management before completing her doctoral work at the University of London on Surrealism, materialist science and marine life. She is co-coordinator of the virtual events series for the International Society for the Study of Surrealism. Recent publications include “Surrealism in England” in The Routledge Companion to Surrealism as well as an upcoming chapter in Vernon Press’s Surrealism and Ecology, “Aquatic Sensing in Jean Painlevé’s Early Filmic Environments”. A monographic version of her thesis, Submerged Surrealism: Marine Fauna in the Service of Subversion, is currently underway.
Research focus
Le Radici Francesi: The Parisian Origins of Arturo Schwarz’s Surrealist Collection in Rome
Arturo Schwarz, renowned for his work on Marcel Duchamp and credited with bringing Dada and Surrealism to post-World War II Italy, played a pivotal role in the country's avant-garde art scene. Through his Milanese gallery/bookshop from the 1950s to the mid-70s, he reintroduced these movements to an audience still reeling from decades of Fascism, transforming his storefront into a hub of neo-Dada. His interests in anthropology, psychology, and philosophy paralleled those of the Surrealists, positioning him as a major contributor to the movement's third wave. Schwarz facilitated the influx of Surrealist art from Paris and the US, influencing the art scene with his promotion via exhibitions and publications focusing on French Surrealists and Italian post-war artists.
This scholarly project will use archival and art historical research to explore Schwarz's ambassadorial role in Italian art, focusing on his connection to Parisian Surrealism to highlight Schwarz's legacy as a key figure in what could be seen as an Italian branch. It will examine his life in Italy, his exhibitions, his monumental collection and writings, as well as his ties to Surrealist figures. His exhibitions showcased the global reach of Surrealism and its political dimensions, further solidifying his influence as a major figure.
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