If you’re in the Jackson Square neighborhood, be sure to make a stop at the Transamerica Pyramid Center’s Redwood Park. Among the fountains and foliage you’ll find a suite of 12 bronze sculptures by 20th century Dada artist and surrealist Max Ernst, never before publicly exhibited together. The works were created between 1938 and 1939, alongside his romantic partner, artist Leonora Carrington.
San Francisco Chronicle
Max Ernst sculptures bring surreal touch to Transamerica Pyramid
Tony Bravo, Aug 01, 2025
Max Ernst, “Sphinx et Sirène,” conceived and created as permanent site-specific sculptures in 1938-39, cast in 1992. Artists Rights Society/ADAGP, Paris
Ernst and Carrington lived in Saint-Martin-d’Ardèche in the south of France in 1938 where Ernst’s sculptures were created and displayed. Among them is his “Tête de Loplop,” a bust of his birdlike alter ego, and inside the pyramid, his “La femme à demi-tête,” showing a female form standing on a head.
The works are presented in partnership by neighboring Gallery Wendi Norris and Pyramid Arts. The space will be activated throughout the exhibition, with public programming to provide a deeper understanding of the stories of Ernst and Carrington.
Max Ernst at Transamerica Pyramid Center: Park open from dusk to dawn, Monday-Sunday. On view through Dec. 14. Free. Transamerica Pyramid Center, 600 Montgomery St., S.F