Alchemy and occultism, our worlds and fictional worlds - all this is manifested in the works of Remedios Varo.
Spanish artist and representative of surrealism Remedios Varo (1908-1963) was at heart an explorer with a deep interest in discovering the invisible and the unconscious. Interested in such scientific disciplines as astronomy, ecology, psychology, Varo sought to expand the boundaries of human understanding. And she consciously set herself the goal of performing mystical work, revealing the secret, or, more precisely, expressing it in ways that do not always correspond to the logical order, but correspond to the intuitive, prophetic and irrational.
Born in Catalonia, Maria de los Remedios Alicia y Rodriga Varo y Uranga was highly gifted, taking an interest in her father's work as a hydraulic engineer and reading science fiction novels from a young age. Her early experiences and desire to learn informed her artistic practice and led to surrealism. After several years of living and working in Paris, Varo, like many of her contemporaries, fled Europe before World War II and moved to Mexico City, where she died of a heart attack at the age of 54.
Charming and unusual works testify to the esoteric inclinations of the artist and are filled with unexpected touching magic. For example, at the center of “The Creation of Birds” is a prefabricated owl-like character who draws winged creatures that come to life under the influence of a star beam. In the painting "Fast Science, or the Alchemist," a disguised figure rotates a crank that drives a machine of gears, at the base of which there is a pale green liquid.
Varo's plots are often based on quest and discovery, as is the physical process of creation. The artist created caricatures or full-scale drawings, which she transferred to canvas. These designs served as the basis for more elegant and subtle techniques such as blotography, scraping, and decalcomania, which involves pressing painted material against another surface so that both are temporarily touched by layers of wet paint. This creates unusual multilayer planes. The sheer amount of texture gives Varo's work an extraterrestrial, enchanting quality.
Microcosmos
Alleged self-portrait
Sympathy
Spirit of the night
Juggler
Witch going to the Sabbath
Woman leaving psychoanalyst's office
Troubadour
Spiral Journey
Creation of birds
Character
Embroidering the Earth's mantle
Harmony
Useless Science, or the Alchemist
Escape
Vegetarian vampires
Mimicry
River exploration
Magic flight
Cosmic energies
Meeting