Weird life 1945

Remedios Varo made this small painting titled "Weird life" sometime in the mid-twentieth century; the medium looks like oil or tempera on panel. Varo's brushwork is delicate and meticulous; she builds up form and depth slowly in layers. The painting is a crazy mix of surreal imagery and playful geometry. I am drawn to the central blue form with its vacant, eye-like voids. The blue color is both calming and unsettling, and those little holes pull you into the unknown. And then there is that fuzzy little creature riding a penny-farthing! It reminds me of some of the creatures in Max Ernst’s work. Varo certainly knew her art history. She was part of the surrealist movement, but her work always had this strange, personal twist. She was always trying to expand our way of seeing, thinking, and feeling.