If you are familiar with the works of such artists as Salvador Dali and René Magritte, you will be completely familiar with the sense of fantasy that their works invariably prompt. It’s called surrealism for a reason. And for a short while there is still time to enjoy the works of a reclusive artistic who was born in Germany in 1947 but who has lived in the UK since 1948. His name is Henry Orlik. You likely may not have heard of him but if Dali is your kind of thing, this will be, too.

This is Defeat (Aeroplane Over LA)…I know, don’t ask me to explain the title, but like I said, it’s surrealism

The exhibition is called Cosmos of Dreams and it is being put on by a Wiltshire Fine Art company called Winsor Birch. The subtitle is ‘Rediscovering the Locked-Up Genius of Henry Orlik’; the show has been curated by Grant Ford. “I have been involved in the art world for 38 years,” Ford told The Guardian, “and I have never come across such an extraordinary group of paintings…[he] should be considered one of our greats.” The fact that he hasn’t been was largely down to the fact that in his early career he felt he was continually being ripped off by dealers. The consequence: he painted his pictures but never allowed them to be exhibited. Fortunately for the wider public, he has, belatedly, changed his mind about that.

The intriguing Cannon Balloons was on offer for sale at £32,000 – well, it was until news of the exhibition made it into the newspapers

Before his hermit-like period, Orlik’s paintings had been shown alongside such as Dali and Magritte in London exactly 50 years ago. To quote Grant Ford again: “He conjures extraordinary, other-worldly scenes filled with anthropomorphic landscapes, undulating bodies and solid architectural form.” Indeed he does; I couldn’t have put it any better myself! BTW, the photo on the home page is of a painting called Beauty and Sharks.

This one is called NYC-Grand Central, acrylic on canvas, since you asked..and I guess there is indeed a suggestion of Grand Central Station and smoke is redolent of a train

Before the exhibition moved to its current location in Marlborough, close to Orlik’s home, it was showing at the Maas Gallery in central London. The woman who was supervising matters there told me that after the story about the exhibition appeared in The Guardian on August 10, which made it plain that some of the paintings had not been sold, that state of affairs did not last for long. By the time I got to visit before the London showings closed on August 20, every single lot was displaying a red dot: already sold. The exhibition is currently at The Little Gallery, 1-2 The Parade, Marlborough, Wiltshire and it is on until Friday.

Robert Green