Art, Resistance, Magic ~ Remedios Varo
Star Maker ~ Remedios Varo
‘The dream world and the real world are the same.’
~Remedios Varo
The art of Remedios Varo does indeed show the dream world and the real world are the same, combining technical drawing and surrealism in a way that brings the dreamworld into the realm of the everyday, hinting at the magical nature of the world. Using contrasts in colour and texture, Varo captures the essence of the ‘other’. My favourite piece, if I had to choose just one, is called Star Maker. It depicts the uppermost chamber of a tower, surrounded by the night sky like a sea of darkness with only the diffused light from the stars. Within the chamber, the star maker is hard at work crafting a crescent moon. I don’t know why I like this painting so much, and if you enjoy art, you’ll know what I mean. When a picture speaks to your very soul, it’s hard to put your finger on why, and besides, the old adage is true, a picture speaks a thousand words. In the case of Varo, it also speaks a tumble of emotion and feeling.
Whilst today her name is becoming more widely recognised, it is a crying shame that for so long, this fabulous artist and brave woman has remained in the shadows. Her life reads like an adventure story full of danger and excitement with a dash of love and intrigue thrown in for good measure and Varo does indeed a heroine make.
Born Maria de la Remedios Alcia Rodriga Varo y Uranga in Catalonia, Spain on December 16th 1908, she spent much of her young childhood moving mostly across Spain and North Africa due to her father’s career as a hydraulic engineer. She received a basic education at convent schools, though her father, recognising her artistic talent, would often let her help with the technical drawings used in his work. He also supplemented the basic convent education with literature and science. Despite later rejecting religion, it is clear that it still influenced her artwork though in a seemingly more metaphysical way.
In 1924 the family moved to Madrid, Spain and at 15 Varo attended Escuela de Bellas Artes. It was while attending art school she met her first husband, Gerado Lizarraga. They were married in 1930 when she was 22. The couple moved to Paris to enable them to be closer to the art scene, but they returned to Spain just a year later. In 1937, Remedios met political activist Esteben Frances. He must have been a great influence because a year later Varo left her husband to fight in the Spanish Civil War though she would always remain friendly with Gerado.
Varo once more left Spain for France, this time alongside Esteben and poet Benj Amin Peret, who it was rumoured was her lover. This time, instead of seeking out the artistic life of Paris, the trio were escaping the growing civil unrest in Spain. Life in Paris, however, was difficult and money was tight. They lived in poverty, and Varo would forge paintings to earn money to survive. When Peret was arrested for his political leanings at the beginning of World War 2, Varo too was arrested as his lover, though she was released a few days later. Shortly after her release, Germany invaded France and Varo left the country once again, this time as a political exile. She moved to Mexico and it was here that she would finally find peace. The country would remain her home until her death. In 1952 Varo married Austrian-born Walter Gruen and for the first time in her adult life, she had financial security which finally allowed her to concentrate more fully on her art.
Varo formed a close friendship with fellow exiled artist Leonora Carrington, and together they would regularly attend mystic meetings arranged by the followers of Russian mystics Ouspenky and Gurdjieff, known for studying the evolution of consciousness. Varo was also interested in topics such as astrology and alchemy. She even designed a tarot deck in 1957, the Carta De Tarot.
During the later years of her life, Varo found success as an artist and her first solo exhibition was held in Mexico City at Galeria Diana. It was a massive success, as were her subsequent exhibitions and there were long waiting lists for her works. Varo died in Mexico City in 1963 at the pinnacle of her artistic career.
When we consider her religious schooling, the later eschewing of religious theology along with the upheaval and unrest in her life, the political activism and her interest in the other, we see that Remedios Varo, whether she called herself witch or not, certainly embodied the spirit of freedom, wildness and magic. Of the witch.
References
Kaplan, Janet A. Unexpected Journeys : the Art and Life of Remedios Varo. London : Virago, 1988.
EMMA KATHRYN
Emma Kathryn, practises traditional British witchcraft, Vodou and Obeah, a mixture representing her heritage. She lives in the sticks with her family where she reads tarot, practises witchcraft and drink copious amounts of coffee.
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