Enigmatic Surrealism
Between the real and the imagined
Mikael Jihann (1934 – 2019), French-American surrealist painter of Armenian descent. Where love, imagination and history converge in a language of their own.
“Physical matter inevitably deteriorates, but art endures.”
From the artist’s philosophy
Eleven rooms
Each collection follows one thread of his work, from nature studies and pencil sketches to monumental oils.
Surrealism
12 worksWhere the boundaries between reality and imagination blur.
Me and You
9 worksConnection, intimacy and the silent language between souls.
Love and Nature
23 worksA visual love letter to the earth, its textures and its quiet energy.
Still to come
Eight further rooms are being prepared. Their works will be unveiled as they are photographed.
ForthcomingThoughts
The labyrinth of the mind: introspection and the inner voice.
ForthcomingEclosion
From early nature studies to lyrical figurative and cubist work.
ForthcomingEnigmatism
The hidden architecture of history and human nature.
ForthcomingErosophy
Love, desire and the bond between man and woman.
ForthcomingGenesis
Pencil sketches where the great oils first surface.
ForthcomingHierosurreality
Religious visions in a surrealist language.
ForthcomingPatrimoine
Architectural sketches of France.
ForthcomingPrimamorphia
The human form as a vessel of nature and life.
The Dream Studio
Create your own Jihann
Choose three paintings and the studio melts them into one dream you can keep. Jihann layered several realities in a single canvas; here you can try it yourself.
1. Fill the three dreams
Pick a slot, then a painting. The next slot is selected for you.
2. Choose how they meet
Images include the line “After Mikael Jihann · jihann.art”. For personal use; the original works remain © the estate of Mikael Jihann.
From silence to expression
A life across four countries
Born Mikael Krikor Djihanian in Cairo, he trained under the constraints of Soviet Armenia, found his voice in France, and painted on in the United States. Critics in England named his manner an enigmatic style of Surrealism.