Remedios Varo (1908-1963)

Remedios Varo was born in Angles, Spain, in 1908 and traveled when young with her father throughout Spain and North Africa. She acquired an early interest in mathematics, mechanical drawing, and fantastic locomotive vehicles from her father, a hydraulic engineer.

Varo attended convent schools and at the age of 15 attended the Academia de San Fernando in Madrid where she learned about Surrealism. Varo was attracted to the idea of expressing her emotions using figures and symbols. Later in Barcelona she met the Surrealist poet Benjamin Peret and together they moved to Paris, joining the Surrealist movement in France. In Paris, with the stimulating company Varo’s work matured into a personal voice that was original and provocative.

Varo and Peret moved to Mexico to escape the war in 1942 and Varo settled there for the rest of her life. In 1956 Varo had her first one woman exhibition at the Galeria Diana in Mexico City. She had a retrospective at the Museo de Arte Moderno in 1971 and drew the largest audience in the history of the museum. Many of Varo’s paintings reflect her early fascination with science and instruments. They embrace a fascination with the workings of the universe and the inner world of fantasy, invention, and dreams.