The artwork “Weird life” was created by the artist Remedios Varo in the year 1945. This piece, rendered in gouache on paper, reflects the Surrealist movement, wherein artists tapped into the unconscious to unearth novel imagery and create otherworldly scenes. Petite in scale, the artwork measures 20 x 15.5 cm and belongs to the genre of symbolic painting. Today, it is housed within a private collection and is not on public display.
In “Weird life,” the viewer is plunged into a surreal landscape teeming with enigmatic elements and ethereal motifs that are hallmark to Varo’s oeuvre. The central figure appears to be enveloped within a translucent, floating veil, or perhaps a cocoon, with discernible facial features hosting a gaze that imparts an aura of knowing mystique. Below this ethereal being, a bicycle-like contraption takes on an anthropomorphic quality, further blurring the lines between the living and the inanimate. The backdrop is a mélange of warm and cool hues, splashes of color that seem to be both chaotic and harmonious, creating an otherworldly ambiance that is both disquieting and intriguing. Varo’s masterful use of color and form evokes a dream-like state that pulls the observer into the depths of her surreal and symbolic narrative.
