Museum of Contemporary Art in Krakow showcases the full range of Toyen's work

An exhibition-cum-story about one of the most intriguing and elusive figures of European surrealism. Born in 1902 as Marie Čermínová, she abandoned her name, roles, and expectations at a young age, adopting the pseudonym Toyen and living and creating beyond the boundaries of gender, convention, and social norms. Together with Jindřich Štyrský, she shaped Czech surrealism, exploring eroticism, the unconscious and freedom as spaces for radical imagination. Her work is characterised by a distinctive, often provocative approach to themes of gender, sexuality and desire – her works combine elaborate symbolism with forms that transcend heteronormative representations of the body. The exhibition presents almost all of Toyen's illustrated books, her prints, catalogues and posters, which both address erotic themes and constitute a testimony to her