Remedios Varo's 'Sympathy' and the Surrealist Cat Lady

In 1955, Remedios Varo created the painting 'Sympathy,' which features a woman and her cat in a charged, intimate domestic setting, complete with spilled water, electric sparks, and a three-tailed creature lurking beneath the table. A Catalan Surrealist who settled in Mexico, Varo produced only 171 artworks throughout her life. 'Sympathy' debuted at the Galería Diana on Paseo de la Reforma in Mexico City during the 'Seis pintoras' (Six Painters) exhibition. Emphasizing the decalcomania technique popular among Surrealists, Varo experienced a productive period with her partner Walter Gruen Berger, creating over 100 pieces from 1955 until her passing in 1963. Her art has recently garnered global interest, featuring in solo exhibitions at the National Museum of Women in the Arts (2000), the Mexican Fine Arts Museum (2000), and the Museum of Modern Art in Mexico City (2017, 2019), where 'Adictos a Remedios Varo' attracted 190,000 visitors. Her works are part of collections at MoMA, Centre Pompidou, the National Museum of Women in the Arts, and the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía.