By Aquarium 1961

Remedios Varo created ‘By Aquarium’ using oil on masonite, and like many of her works it depicts a dreamlike world with meticulous detail. Looking closely, you can see a fascinating relationship between the surfaces of the figures and their inner mechanics. The artist used delicate brushwork, and the effect is almost like looking at an engineering drawing. It speaks to the era of industrial production that Varo inhabited, even though the scene is otherworldly. Varo was clearly interested in how machines and humans interact. Notice the figure on wheels, whose garments drape in precise folds. She almost appears to be part of an elaborate clockwork mechanism. It speaks to the human obsession with control and the potential for both creation and destruction within it. Ultimately, Varo invites us to reflect on our relationship with the material world, and the unseen forces that shape our reality, blurring the lines between art, craft, and the complex machinery of modern life.