Óscar Domínguez Spanish, 1906-1957

Overview

"He lets the cold colours fall slowly, drop by drop, then the warm ones, an hour later the invented curves, tenderness, hatred and hope"

- Óscar Domínguez

Óscar Domínguez (1906–1957) was one of the most distinctive surrealist artists of the twentieth century. Born in Tenerife and based in Paris from 1927 onward, he developed a unique artistic language that blended the experimental spirit of European surrealism with an imagery deeply rooted in the volcanic landscape and Atlantic isolation of his homeland. His work is defined by the fusion of reality and dreamlike visions, metamorphic forms, and the use of chance as a creative force. After his first solo exhibition in Tenerife in 1933, he became fully integrated into the surrealist circle led by André Breton, participating in major exhibitions, publications, and collective activities of the movement.

Biography

Domínguez was the inventor of decalcomania, a technique that involves pressing paint between surfaces to produce unpredictable shapes. This method became a poetic tool that allowed him to explore the unconscious, resulting in organic, visionary textures that expanded the visual vocabulary of surrealism. He also developed his so-called litachronic surfaces, experimental compositions that evoke the passage of time through layered materials, reflecting his fascination with the ancestral and the geological. Elements such as dragon trees, lunar-like terrains, and volcanic masses appear not as literal landscapes, but as symbolic expressions of an imagination shaped by insular identity.

During the Nazi occupation of Paris, Domínguez remained in the city and became involved in clandestine cultural resistance, turning his studio into a meeting point for poets and artists. In this context, he strengthened his friendship with Pablo Picasso, whose influence can be seen in the fragmented figures and structural freedom present in many of his works. In the 1950s, while suffering from a degenerative illness, his painting became more introspective and subdued, yet retained the symbolic power and metamorphic language that defined his career. Óscar Domínguez died in Paris in 1957, leaving a lasting legacy within European surrealism and a body of work that continues to offer new interpretations through its imaginative force and deeply personal vision.

Exhibitions