“REMEDIOS VARO: Science Fictions” (July 29-November 27, 2023), an exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago (AIoC), brings welcome attention to a lesser-known artist with ties to Surrealism whose work stressed the transformative and fantastic capacities of artistic creation. In the words of one contributor to the exhibition catalog, Varo provides us with “an alternate world where the rules are different and the potential for the impossible is the norm.”
The Spanish-born artist (1908-1963) was encouraged in her creative pursuits by her engineer father. As a child, she devoured literature both scientific and mystical, accompanied her father to the Prado, and showed early talents as
