Curatorial notes
Curator: What do you see? The painting before us is entitled "Invocation" and, although not specifically dated, we place it within Remedios Varo's surrealist period. Editor: An initiation maybe? It feels like one, very strange but beautifully earthy. Sort of ceremonial, even. This solemn child blowing a horn... It definitely strikes a chord, even though it's undeniably odd. Curator: "Odd" is one way to describe the blend of earthly and ethereal Varo evokes. Note how the figures around the central child emerge from these cave-like, or perhaps womb-like, structures. They feel integral to the setting itself. Varo, deeply influenced by psychoanalysis and the occult, frequently explored themes of transformation. Editor: They really do. Are they coming out, or going in? Are they even real? Their outfits almost seem like natural growths of the rocks, and the whole palette seems muted, brown-on-brown. So curious she didn’t reach for something with higher chroma. And what’s with the one dude drinking a very delicate red wine in the underworld? I bet its Chateau Diana! Curator: Indeed. This integration could also reflect Varo's experience as a woman artist working in a male-dominated field, symbolically embedding her figures within the foundations of her own artistic creations. Notice too that, for surrealism, the style has remarkable precision. She meticulously rendered this in oil paint using glazes to create luminous effects. This technical mastery gives her fantastic images such powerful credibility. Editor: Ah, I hadn't considered the institutional constraints that shape how she would see the art world around her... Clever girl. It gives such solidity to this vision. I like it! Makes me think twice about how much 'out there' I should actually go with my pieces! Curator: It’s interesting to consider how, from a socio-political lens, her use of surrealism allowed her to explore and express realities of gender in a time of change and limited representation. Editor: Hmmm. Food for thought! Remedios and I will be discussing all of this on the astral plane…
