The Museum of Modern Art Acquires Iconic Painting by Remedios Varo

Remedios Varo, El malabarista o El juglar, 1956, Oil and inlaid mother of pearl on masonite. 35 4/5 x 48 inches (91 x 122 cm).

Gallery Wendi Norris proudly congratulates The Museum of Modern Art on the acquisition of Remedios Varo's El malabarista o El juglar (The Juggler). Painted in 1956, The Juggler represents one of the greatest achievements in Remedios Varo's lifetime. One of her largest compositions, the painting reveals the artist's personal quest to understand the mysteries of the universe through magic and mysticism.

Remedios Varo (1908-1963) was born in Girona, Spain and fled Europe during World War II, ultimately adopting Mexico City as her home. Varo has often been identified as a Surrealist, although she and her closest friend, artist Leonora Carrington, were never officially part of the group. In truth, Varo's interests and works stretched the formal confines of Surrealism, having developed a masterful style of painting and a visual language that depicts her interests in science and scientific theory, feminism, and mysticism.

Varo’s work has been acquired by museums worldwide, including The Museum of Modern Art, New York; Centre Pompidou, Paris, National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington D.C., Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, Madrid, Spain, among others. She has had solo shows at The Museum of Modern Art, Mexico City, Mexico (2018, 2016, 2001, 1994, 1983, 1971), National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, D.C. (2000), and Mexican Fine Arts Museum, Chicago, IL (2000). More recently, Varo’s work has been included in many group museum exhibitions including “The Moon – From Inner Worlds to Outer Space”, Louisiana Museum of Art, Denmark (2018); “Campo Cerrado: Spanish Art 1939 – 1953”, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid, Spain (2016); “Exquisite Corpses: Drawing and Disfiguration”, Museum of Modern Art, New York; “In Wonderland: The Surrealist Adventures of Women Artists in Mexico and the United States”, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, California (2012); "Surreal Friends", Pallant House Gallery and Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, United Kingdom (2010), “Exposicion Permanente”, National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, D.C. (2002, 2001); and “Surrealism: Desire Unbound”, Tate Modern Gallery, London, United Kingdom (2001).