Set designed by Dali in 1945 for the film Spellbound is one of the 12 paintings on display at the Media-Dali show in Shanghai.[Photo provided to China Daily]

Dozens of works by the Spanish master will be shown in Shanghai this week. The pieces, insured for more than 400 million yuan, include the oil painting Napoleon's Nose. Deng Zhangyu reports.

Art lovers in Shanghai can expect a feast by the late Spanish surrealist painter Salvador Dali beginning on Thursday, when a show by the foundation created by him returns to the mainland after 14 years.

Images of melting watches, giant eggs, elephant with long and thin legs, all representative of Dali's style, have been placed inside and outside K11 art mall in downtown Shanghai.

The show, Media-Dali at the art mall's gallery will have more than 200 pieces by Dali including paintings, installations and sculptures.

The exhibition, a collaboration between K11 Art Foundation and Gala-Salvador Dali Foundation is the first step for the Dali foundation's "regular and sustainable shows in China in the coming years", says Juan Sevillano, managing director of the Figueres-based Dali foundation.

In 2000 and 2001, the foundation held Dali shows in museums in Beijing and Shanghai.

"We want to have regular exhibitions in China. We need to be prepared. Media-Dali is being held to attract people who don't go to museums," says Sevillano.