Surrealism (1945 - 1954)

Following her early period of representational work, Bongé entered a period of highly subjective, Surrealist experimentation. In fact, as early as 1938, Bongé had begun to experiment with Surrealism and eventually worked in that style for over a decade.
The Surrealists believed in the power of the unconscious to unlock artistic imagination and they thought the rational mind only repressed this imagination. Their creative approach was to forgo conscious thought, embrace chance, tap into human emotion and desire, and use fantasy or dream imagery.

Bongé fully explored the highly subjective and dream-like juxtapositions of unrelated elements that sprang from her irrational, subconscious mind. And like many other artists working in this style she explored her own recurring motifs, initially inspired by images of the “Circus”.

Then throughout this time and into the early 1950s, her Surrealist style continued to evolve as she began her depictions of what she uniquely called “Keyhole People.” Eventually this work became totally abstract.