Magic Flight - Remedios Varo
Archival giclée
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Description
A surrealist composition by Remedios Varo depicting two figures connected by a thread of music amidst a desolate, ancient architectural setting.
Magic Flight, painted in 1956, is a characteristic example of the work of Remedios Varo during her period of exile in Mexico. The composition features a seated figure playing a hurdy-gurdy, an instrument that appears to generate a fine, thread-like substance. This thread connects to a second figure, who is suspended in mid-air, propelled by mechanical wings. The scene is set within a desolate, architectural environment of crumbling stone walls and dark, cavernous archways.
Varo employs a precise, almost scientific application of paint, which contrasts with the dreamlike subject matter. Her technique involves thin, controlled brushstrokes that build up texture on the stone surfaces, creating a sense of age and decay. The palette is dominated by ochre, burnt sienna, and deep brown tones, which unify the figures with their surroundings. The light source is ambiguous, casting long shadows that add to the sense of isolation and mystery.
The narrative quality of the work suggests an alchemical or mystical process. The act of music-making is transformed into a physical manifestation, linking the two figures through a delicate, gossamer line. This visual metaphor for connection and transformation is a recurring theme in Varo's oeuvre. She often explored the intersection of science, magic, and the occult, using her art to map internal psychological states. The mechanical nature of the wings and the cart in the foreground reflect her interest in invention and the physical apparatus of human endeavour. By placing these elements in a timeless, ruinous setting, Varo creates a space where the boundaries between reality and imagination are porous. The work invites the viewer to consider the unseen forces that bind individuals together, as well as the solitary nature of the creative process.
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Each print is produced to order using 12-colour giclée printing on FSC-certified archival paper. Designed in Britain and printed at your nearest production hub to reduce waste and speed up delivery.
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Specific Features
Every Solis piece is made to order with archival, gallery-quality materials built to last.
- Museum-grade giclée printing for rich, fade-resistant colour
- Archival matte fine-art paper, FSC-certified
- Multiple sizes and framing options available
- Frames in black, natural wood, dark wood or white
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Care & Cleaning
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- Dust gently with a soft, dry cloth
- Avoid prolonged direct sunlight
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Materials & Sizing
Museum-grade giclée on FSC-certified archival matte paper, with framed and canvas options.
- Paper sizes: A4, A3, A2, A1, A0 and B2 (50×70 cm)
- Canvas: XS (20×30 cm) to Large (60×90 cm)
- Frames: black, natural wood, dark wood or white
Magic Flight - Remedios Varo
Artist Biography
Remedios Varo
She graduated from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando in 1930, one of the few women in her class. In Barcelona she fell in with the Surrealists and, through them, with the poet Benjamin Peret, who became her partner. When Paris fell, she was jailed on suspicion of espionage. After her release she and Peret boarded one of the last ships allowed to leave France, arriving in Mexico in 1941.
In Mexico City she became inseparable from the English Surrealist Leonora Carrington. Together with the photographer Kati Horna, the three were called the Three Witches. They attended meetings of Gurdjieff and Ouspensky followers, studied alchemy and Jungian dream theory, and put ink in tapioca pearls to serve as caviar at dinner parties for Octavio Paz.
She did not paint prolifically until the last thirteen years of her life, once she was financially stable and free of wartime displacement. The paintings from this period are meticulous: tiny figures in architectural spaces that obey their own physics, conducting experiments with starlight or weaving the fabric of the universe from threads pulled out of the air.
Her posthumous retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art in Mexico City in 1971 drew more visitors than shows by Diego Rivera or David Alfaro Siqueiros. She had died of a heart attack in 1963, at fifty-four, at the peak of her working life.
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