Surrealist painter · 1906–1957
Surrealist painter
Surrealist painter born in San Cristóbal de La Laguna in 1906. He developed decalcomania as an automatic Surrealist procedure and followed a career linked to Paris, André Breton's circle and the visual memory of Tenerife.
Óscar Domínguez was born in San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Tenerife, in 1906. TEA places his childhood between La Laguna and Tacoronte, and Fundación MAPFRE documents his arrival in Paris in 1927 to deal with the family banana business. The Museo Reina Sofía states that he settled in Paris from 1932; in 1933 he exhibited his Surrealist paintings in Tenerife and in 1934 joined the Surrealist circle linked to André Breton.
His best-known contribution was decalcomania, an automatic procedure associated with Surrealism. The Museo Reina Sofía describes it as a technique based on placing liquid tempera between two sheets of paper and pressing them lightly; TEA presents it as his main contribution to the movement. Fundación MAPFRE stresses that his decalcomanias circulated in Surrealist circles and incorporated references to the Canarian landscape.
Domínguez's career was not limited to his initial Surrealist phase. The Museo Reina Sofía organises his work into Surrealist, cosmic, lithochronic, metaphysical, Picassian and schematic periods; MAPFRE also highlights his cosmic period, the theory of the petrification of time developed with Ernesto Sábato and the later influence of De Chirico and Picasso. He died in Paris on 31 December 1957. His work is held in collections such as the Museo Reina Sofía, TEA, Fundación MAPFRE and MoMA.
