Spectacular exhibition of surrealist art – Óscar Dominguez 📷 Málaga – Spain

I often feel that my journey through the art world is never-ending; there is always so much left for me to learn and so many artists to discover, many of whom are wonderful, and I love being surprised by the art exhibitions I visit, learning from them and enjoying them.

When I was studying drawing and painting, I did so privately, although I later sat an exam at an art school. But really, whilst I learnt about art history, it was only about the great artists. Yet there are so many in the world, and so many talented ones, that whilst many of them are surely well-known to many people, they are not to me. On this journey of learning that the city of Málaga, a city of art, affords me, I cherish every step I take in every museum.

Recently, I decided to visit the Picasso Museum regularly. Its free visiting hours are very limited and you have to queue for ages, but in the four visits I made, I managed to see the whole place. I’ll tell you that the first time I went, I thought I’d seen it all, and when I went for the second time, I realised I’d missed many rooms. So I have huge folders full of artworks, both by Picasso and from other temporary exhibitions held in special galleries, and today I’m bringing you one of them.

Although I had heard of the painter Óscar Domínguez, I had never seen any of his works, and visiting this art exhibition was one of the most spectacular experiences I have ever had in the world of painting. I never imagined that what I would see would be so astonishing, and I learnt a great deal about the artist and his life.

On entering, I saw a large display panel on the wall detailing the artist’s entire life. Dates and details about his childhood activities, his studies, what he learnt from his father, and even the inspiration he drew from Salvador Dalí. I also read about his early paintings, his trip to France, his studies, and how he found his way into Surrealism, something that fascinates me, although I think it’s heavily influenced by other art movements. I see Cubism and abstraction in there too.

The Picasso Museum, which, I must say, is always a pleasure to visit, given the quality of the exhibits and because it is specially designed for the city’s heavy tourist traffic, meaning everything there is written in two languages, Spanish and English. This museum is one of the most important, and in this case, the exhibition is of immense quality. It ran until last December, and I managed to visit just as it was drawing to a close. I didn’t want to miss it.

Let’s say that this artist is part of the Spanish and international Surrealist movement, alongside Miró, Dalí, Varo and Francés. Óscar Domínguez was born in 1906 in Tenerife, and in 1934 he joined the French Surrealist group.

His paintings are absolutely astonishing, spontaneous and brimming with creativity and imagination, and many refer to his hometown, where the sea, the sand and the cloudscapes inspire him to create extraordinary works.

This artist blended surrealism with magic, and I think that is what immediately caught my attention when I entered the room, a room which, in turn, was laid out like a vast labyrinth with walls of various colours showcasing different periods of the painter’s artistic life. This magical style and his way of painting earned him the reputation of a spontaneous surrealist. He felt a fascination for painting, and it was this very passion that made him known in the world of art and literature; and this is how he achieved his first international surrealist exhibition alongside many other renowned artists in the field.

I felt a connection with this artist; although I do not paint in the same style, I do share his boundless imagination, and he was undoubtedly at the pinnacle of it. For Surrealism, as was written on the walls, the image is a free creation of the spirit, and this is evident in Óscar Domínguez’s work, which steps outside reality and opens up to unimaginable things.

If you look closely, his work transcends conventional norms, venturing into the world of dreams, a world that fascinates me. The objects in his works carry symbolic meaning, and everything alludes to strange metaphors. There is both obsession and vision in his paintings; everything revolves around the irrational and the enigmatic, absolute creative freedom.

He was one of the masters of decalcomania, an experimental technique using brushes. I was unfamiliar with this technique and it was through these paintings that I came to know of it. Paint is applied to a material or surface and pressed against another piece of paint, revealing an extraordinary result when they are separated before they have dried completely. The artist works with black ink over other colours, thereby creating shadows within landscapes, underwater scenes or volcanic settings. With this technique, the painter enters fully into that world of dreams, the undefined.

He creates brass stencils that combine chance with intention and desire, and this is evident in several of his works.

In Surrealism, the image is the unit of action; it expresses a language of the mind and thought, without concern for aesthetics and often defying logic.

I have learnt so much from this exhibition, particularly because there is always a written guide, and I like to pause, read and learn a little more. That Surrealist image blends realities, bringing them together like two intersecting visions.

There was a period between 1938 and 1940 when the artist focused on spiral paintings and images of rotation, as if he were constantly alluding to a possible catastrophe. These were described as paintings with a cosmic atmosphere, pure fascination, like children watching shooting stars. There, on the museum walls, it was written that the painter created his works even whilst conversing with friends who came to visit him—paintings evoking outer space, figures that seemed to exist only in dreams.

Óscar Domínguez collaborated with a clandestine group of the French Resistance and took part in its activities. This is how he met Picasso and expressed his fascination with him, considering him the ‘most sensational man of the era’, and this is how he came to embrace Cubism. As I entered the room, I realised, even before reading all the texts, that there lay the inspiration in Picasso.

At that time, his works were geometric in style, featuring perspectives and also evoking family memories.

By the 1950s, the artist had shifted his style somewhat, moving towards a three-line schematic approach, with abundant colour and lines, and great precision in his drawing. It was time to give prominence to objects and iconographic motifs in a lucid and formalist manner. He also produced large tapestries and depicted painters’ studios with all their trappings, and even created self-portraits.

The huge poster, divided into sections and displayed at the entrance to the exhibition, mentions that the painter took his own life in 1957, and to be honest, I thought to myself at that moment… what a shame, he was a true master. It doesn’t mention the possible reason. But I believe his paintings are an expression of a soul brimming with dreams and imagination, and to me, that is simply wonderful.

It was a brilliant exhibition, with an impressive number of paintings of the highest quality, and I had the luxury and privilege of being there.

Thank you all very much for joining me today; I send you my warmest regards. See you soon.
Amonet.