What is Decalcomania?

Decalcomania is a Surrealist technique where paint is pressed between two surfaces then pulled apart, creating random, organic patterns. Max Ernst and Oscar Dominguez developed the technique for Surrealist purposes, finding that the resulting textures suggested landscapes, vegetation, geological formations, or otherworldly environments. Like frottage and grattage, decalcomania introduces chance into the creative process, allowing the unconscious to find meaning in random patterns. Artists can develop the resulting forms or incorporate them directly into compositions. The technique produces distinctively surrealist textures still used by contemporary artists.