Remedios Varo (Spain/Mexico, 1908-1963)
A Visionary Line is the first exhibition dedicated to the drawings of Remedios Varo and her first solo show in New York City in nearly four decades. Varo’s drawings demonstrate her Renaissance-inspired technique and showcase her visual acuity and technical prowess.
As a child, Varo learned to draw alongside her engineer father. Under his tutelage, she developed a keen sense of architectonic space and a dedication to perspectival accuracy. From these earliest sketches, drawing became an integral part of Varo’s artistic process. Her highly detailed paintings are the product of meticulous preparatory sketches which were either transferred directly onto the canvas or served as character sketches and visual guideposts. The two preparatory drawings for El flautista (1955) beautifully demonstrate the different forms and functions of her drawing practice, from the schematic to the psychological. Also on view is an exceptional standalone drawing, Personaje alado (1959), dedicated to her friend and patron.
A Visionary Line invites the viewer to delight in the delicacy and precision of Varo’s drawings. They are indexes of her ideas, artifacts of her process, and blueprints for her singular paintings.
