Which 1938 Paris exhibition brought together Surrealist art and unsettling display designs by Marcel Duchamp?

The 1938 Paris exhibition that brought together Surrealist art and unsettling display designs by Marcel Duchamp was The International Exhibition of Surrealism.

Held at the Galerie Beaux-Arts in Paris, the exhibition opened in January 1938. Marcel Duchamp served as its chief organizer and designed aspects of the presentation, including a ceiling covered with coal sacks and a room associated with Salvador Dalí’s Rainy Taxi. The unusual environment made the exhibition itself part of the artistic experience.

The show featured works by major Surrealists, including Salvador Dalí, Max Ernst, René Magritte, Joan Miró, and Man Ray. Its design rejected the neutral gallery setting and emphasized surprise, theatricality, and disorientation—qualities closely related to Surrealist interests.

It should not be confused with the 1925 exhibition in Paris, which was an earlier major group presentation of Surrealist artists. The 1938 event was international in scale and became especially notable for treating installation and atmosphere as essential parts of the exhibition.