Debrecen4U
February 24, 2026
Salvador Dalí at MODEM
Under the title Time Mimicry, MODEM presents a design dialogue between six works by the master and creations by contemporary Hungarian fashion designers. The exhibition is open until 24 May.
A major exhibition titled Time Mimicry opened at MODEM on 21 February. Fifty‑five years have passed since Salvador Dalí captured his vision of the fashion of the future in a series of twelve drawings. Created at the invitation of the internationally renowned, Belgian‑founded textile brand Scabal, these works are now on view at MODEM, where they enter into dialogue with creations by contemporary Hungarian fashion designers of the 2000s, selected from the collection of the Museum of Applied Arts at the Hungarian National Museum Public Collection Centre.
At Saturday’s opening, Deputy Mayor István Puskás emphasised in his welcome speech that, as a citizen of Debrecen and an admirer of the fine arts, it is always a pleasure to see major international works presented in the city. Over the past twenty years, MODEM has hosted many such highlights: after Leonardo da Vinci and Wassily Kandinsky, Dalí has now arrived. It is an encounter, he noted, that will draw art lovers from across the country.
He noted that this is not the first attempt at presenting fashion at MODEM. Referring to the three time planes appearing in Time Mimicry, István Puskás remarked that an important element of the scientific discourse of contemporary art is that we remain within the future visions of previous decades and continually revisit them; consequently, curators around the world are asking what our relationship is to these imagined futures.
Kata Vizi, Director of MODEM, spoke about the preparatory work that began a year ago. She remarked that everyone has some connection to Dalí—most commonly through the image of melting time or his distinctive moustache—but now the master’s genuine handprint is visible in these works, as he committed his fashion visions to paper.
The works on display allow for a personal and intimate connection with the viewer and may also serve as inspiration: a drawing competition is being launched on the theme of what we might be wearing in 2050. Of the submissions received, ten drawings selected by a jury will be presented on MODEM’s online platforms.
The exhibition was opened by fashion researcher Petra Egri. The specialist, who graduated from the University of Debrecen, recalled that her work had previously appeared in the journal Alföld, and that she has maintained a professional connection to Dalí for fifteen years. “In truth, nothing is more tragic and futile than fashion,” she quoted Dalí, before offering a historical overview of fashion and exploring the concept of time-sensitivity associated with it.
Following the opening, the curator of Time Mimicry, Judit Horváth, Head of the Contemporary Design Department at the Museum of Applied Arts, gave the first guided tour.
The series contains six original works by Salvador Dalí. These are placed in dialogue with contemporary Hungarian fashion designs from the 2000s, selected from the Museum of Applied Arts collection of the Hungarian National Museum Public Collection Centre. The exhibiting artists — Tamás Király, Valéria Fazekas, Anikó Németh (Manier), Krisztina Remete, Dóra Zsigmond, Lilla Pápai, the Perceptuel Thinkers collective, Use Unused, the Artista Studio and Zita Attalai — present garments and accessories that reflect the social, cultural and aesthetic questions of their time, connecting to Dalí’s drawings as autonomous, equally significant artistic statements.
The central concept of the exhibition is time mimicry, which refers to the adaptability and ever‑renewing nature of fashion, a phenomenon that holds a defining place in our culture. A garment therefore carries not only the moment of its design, but also the present of its wear and the promise of an imagined future. In this approach, time is not a linear process but a terrain of repetitions, references, and reinterpretations. The exhibition examines fashion as a time‑sensitive cultural practice that reveals the layers and interconnections of different styles and eras.
The curator of Time Mimicry is Judit Horváth, Head of the Contemporary Design Department at the Museum of Applied Arts of the Hungarian National Museum Public Collection Centre, and the exhibition designer is Kriszta Remete.
Source and photo credit: debrecen.hu
