Lot Essay
Following the surrealistic technique of frottage and blotting, Varo's backgrounds appear accidental, yet they merely serve as the starting point from which she elaborates highly detailed and controlled images, ones that constantly question her existence. Active and well versed on subjects such as psychoanalysis, alchemy, science and other esoteric practices, Varo repeatedly brings into question the human existence through her art. At times autobiographical, at times purely imaginative, the disquieting images of her work have the power to synthesize beyond what understanding can know, the magical world of dreams.
Mi generalito has a semi-veiled image of a figure, dressed in a magician's tunic--yet decorated with medals and followed by a stream of fleurs de lys, dominating the composition. He is about to walk into the wilderness, observed, by a figure, depicted within an elaborate frame which may be that of a mirror or a portrait painting. A ghost-like mirror image of the generalito, above him, emanating from the ceiling, is also present. Within the context of Varo's work, both these reflections can be associated with the power of reflection as a tool to discover the self.
This painting has been promised on loan to the retrospective exhibition of the artist currently being organized in Tokyo.
Mi generalito has a semi-veiled image of a figure, dressed in a magician's tunic--yet decorated with medals and followed by a stream of fleurs de lys, dominating the composition. He is about to walk into the wilderness, observed, by a figure, depicted within an elaborate frame which may be that of a mirror or a portrait painting. A ghost-like mirror image of the generalito, above him, emanating from the ceiling, is also present. Within the context of Varo's work, both these reflections can be associated with the power of reflection as a tool to discover the self.
This painting has been promised on loan to the retrospective exhibition of the artist currently being organized in Tokyo.