Wolfgang Paalen

An Austrian Surrealist painter, art theorist, sculptor and poet, author of several philosophical works, who worked in Mexico and the USA.

Wolfgang Paalen came from a wealthy German-Austrian family; his childhood passed in an old castle, purchased and restored by his father. The atmosphere of the Middle Ages reigned there; ancient legends and legends of local people significantly impacted the formation of the personality of the future artist.

Paalen was a member of the group of abstract artists “Abstraction-Creation”, and later became one of the prominent figures of the surrealist movement, acting as an organizer and designer of their exhibitions, both in Europe and in the USA. At the invitation of Frida Kahlo, he moved to Mexico, where he founded his surreal art magazine DYN, which had a great influence on the avant-garde art of the country.

In his work, Wolfgang Paalen sought to combine abstract art with an appeal to the subconscious and symbolic elements. He developed his model of surrealistic expression, presented in the form of a mysterious, otherworldly landscape permeated with mysticism and saturated with mysterious images of cosmic origin.

Abstract paintings of the artist and his theoretical articles had a great influence on the development of Abstract Expressionism, which became the major art movement in the USA in the second half of the XXth century.

Key ideas:

– Most of the artist’s works are close to abstraction. It is hard to distinguish the outlines of familiar objects or people in them. Elongated figures on the background of the cosmic landscape resemble a heap of incoherent elements that are held together thanks only to their energy.

– Creating his works, the artist completely immersed in the world of his own fantasies, unconscious feelings, memories from childhood and real transformed observations.

– Color plays a big role in the artist’s work. His paintings created in a dark smoky grey palette evoke excitement, while pale bluish-turquoise shades symbolize cold and alienation. Paalen often used bright colour accents to emphasize the importance of a certain element.

– Paalen was interested in the art of pre-Columbian America. His latest works contain elements of the Olmec totem culture, which he studied while participating in archaeological expeditions. These canvases contain large monumental figures and ancient symbols.

– The artist is known as the author of an original technique in painting, which he called “fumage”. The basis of this method was drawing with a burning candle or a kerosene lamp, which was brought close to the picture and left an interesting trace of soot on its surface. Many artists, including famous surrealists Roberto Matta and Salvador Dali, worked in this unusual technique.

– Wolfgang Paalen created not only paintings, but also surreal art objects. In those works, he used the technique of combining incompatible things, creating extraordinary designs that amaze the imagination of the viewer. The most famous was the installation with an umbrella made of dried sea sponges.