Óscar Domínguez (1906–1957) was a notable painter born on the island of Tenerife, Spain. His work is characterised by a bold and experimental style and contrast-filled compositions in which the real and the imaginary merge to produce disturbing and enigmatic images. Domínguez’s ability to create these striking images earned him significant recognition within the Surrealist movement and a reputation as one of the most original and provocative artists of his time.

A visionary painter of functionally symbolic objects, Óscar Domínguez was the inventor of “decalcomania.” In the words of Isidro Hernández Gutiérrez, the exhibition’s curator: “His painting seeks to give meaning to the exercise of creative freedom, understanding art and life as a single impulse in which chance, desire, dark humour and the irrational go hand in hand.”

In conjunction with Óscar Dóminguez, the Museo Picasso Málaga has published a complete catalogue featuring texts by the exhibition’s curator Isidro Hernández Gutiérrez, by art critic Patrick Waldberg and by other Surrealist artists, as well as an extensive chronology on the artist. Published in Spanish and English, it has 224 pages and is extensively illustrated with works of art, documents and photographs that provide a deeper understanding of Domínguez’s life and work from multiple perspectives.