A Surrealist Takes on Science Fiction

Mysticism and magic were inherent in her paintings: Remedios Varo (1908-1963) electrified with a wild mix of themes from science, music, or strange apparatuses. The Chicago Art Institute is now showing Remedios Varo: Science Fictions, her first museum exhibition in the United States since 2000, beginning July 29.

Born in Spain, where her real name was María de los Remedios Alicia y Rodriga Varo y Uranga, she fled to Mexico City after World War II. There she found a community of European and Mexican artists in which she could develop freely. Mexican culture and geography served as a template for her individual stylistic development, which was composed of surrealist chance techniques. Varo often combined seemingly contradictory fields: esotericism, psychology, chivalric romanticism, and economy all came together in her compositions.

The exhibition Remedios Varo: Science Fictions brings together some 20 paintings from the period between 1955 and her death in 1963, which testify to her surrealist curiosity. The Art Institute also presents other interesting objects, such as large-format preparatory drawings, notebooks, ephemera, and even personal items. The subtitle Science Fiction refers to Varo's attempt to visualize hidden orders. At the same time, the exhibition continues the Art Institute's 90-year tradition of regularly exhibiting collected Surrealist works to explore and expand the boundaries of the global movement. In addition, visitors can look forward to the first solo exhibition of a Surrealist artist based in Mexico. The exhibition is on view through November 27.