“The Maximum Speed of Raphael’s Madonna” (1954) is one of the paintings included in the exhibition “Dalí: The Late Work,” at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta. (Credit: Erik S. Lesser for The New York Times)

by Emily Brown

The upturned mustache and beady eyes of Salvador Dali now cover billboards and buses in Atlanta. In August, the excitement of the Dali exhibit began as the High Museum welcomed this eccentric artist’s later works to Atlanta.

Recently I attended the exhibition with friends on a balmy Friday evening for Jazz Night, held on the third Friday of every month combining live music, cocktails and, of course, fabulous art. In between sips of Salvador Sangria, the conversation buzzed about the mystique and expertise of this Spanish artist.

Putting down cocktail glasses and stepping away from the music-filled atrium, the story of Salvador begins.

Entering the exhibit, you will feel as though his bulging black eyes are watching you – in bold photographs, quotes and film. You learn he is from Spain and has a passion for the Catalonia region.

The first two galleries, containing mustache shapes and photographs, try to prepare you for what is to come. However, when his art takes over – get ready – it’s terrifically tantalizing.

Take, for example, “The Speed of Raphael’s Madonna,” with its vibrant lazuline background containing floating rhinoceros horns. Dali was fascinated with the rhinoceros horn because its growth patterns are congruent with mathematical formulas.

Put on the 3D glasses to view his work in holograms. Sit down in a lip-shaped chair to find the hidden images in his work.  Ever thought of playing chess with finger pieces? Dali’s chess set, a homage to Marcel Duchamp, will fascinate you with its unusual pieces. Check out the film documenting his life and find out how Dali hob-knobbed with the likes of Andy Warhol. Can you imagine soup cans melting on a staircase?

The exhibit contains works not seen in the United States for more than 50 years as well as generous pieces loaned by the Salvador Dali Museum in St. Petersburg, Fla. From this exhibit you begin to gather a sense of a man who dissected images with fervor and energy, producing art in many forms including jewelry.

My top five Dali-isms from the exhibit:

1. He loved his wife. Dali married his beloved Gala in Paris on Jan. 30, 1934. Gala was in many of Dali’s works including “Madonna of Port Lligat” in which she is recast as the Virgin.
2. His work was often inspired by dreams. Think about your dreams. Can you imagine someone seeing them? Dali’s work brings form to these chaotic collages in the mind.  I wonder what Dali would think about the new movie Inception.
3. He appreciated classicism and worked in surrealism. He declared himself a classicist in 1938 after meeting with Freud. “You have to systematically create confusion, it sets creativity free,” said Dali. “Everything that is contradictory creates life.”
4. He used science to justify faith. Dali’s art became a medium for him to explore his faith through psychology, science and religion. For example, in “Assumpta Corpuscularia Lapislazulina,” Dali projects the ascent of the Virgin (with the face of Gala) as the result not of a miracle, but an atomic reaction. His late works chronicle his return to Roman Catholicism.
5. He used symbols to convey meaning. See ants? Think decay. Find hidden keys? It might just mean unlocking ideas. Dali packed layers of meaning into his work by using natural imagery.

Dali’s work will probably never be part of my home décor, but seeing it so close inspired me as he used his passion and skill to create brilliant absurdity in his juxtaposed realities.

A few logistical things. Get there by January; the exhibit ends Jan. 9, 2011. Consider going on a week day to prevent an elbow tango with other Dali fans.  The High Museum (www.high.org) is located in Atlanta Georgia on 1280 Peachtree Street; an easy drive down I-85. Ticket prices vary on age: $18 adults; $15 students and seniors; $11 children (ages 5-17).