The title, The Magritte Machine , indicates the non-systematic but methodical nature of the Belgian painter's work. The numerous replicas and variants in Magritte's work were not only a commercial device, but, as he said, a way of "defining the mystery more precisely, of possessing it better." The artist himself recognized that his central procedure consisted of generating variations and combinations from a small number of motifs. All of Magritte's work is a reflection on painting itself, a reflection that the artist approaches with paradox as a tool. The metapictorial concern is broken down into different aspects that make up the exhibition and are reflected in this accompanying publication: the figure of the artist (“The Powers of the Magician”), the dialectic of textual and figurative signs (“Image and Word”), the play with silhouettes, inspired by collage (“Figure and Background”), the painting within the painting (“Painting and Window”), the enigmas of the suppressed and recovered face (“Face and Mask”), the camouflage and concealment of objects (“Mimicry”) and the reappearance of said objects, more visible than ever (“Megalomania”). The first retrospective of Magritte’s work in Spain took place in 1989, organized by the Juan March Foundation, and since then we have not had the opportunity to see an exhibition of the great Belgian painter in our country. The Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, which houses an important painting by Magritte, The Key to the Fields, began five years ago, in collaboration with the Fundación ”la Caixa”, the project that, after suffering several delays, is now finally coming to an end and is accompanied by this publication, co-edited by Ludion, Fundación Colección Thyssen-Bornemisza and Fundación ”la Caixa”.
Texts/ Curator: Guillermo Solana. Biography: Paula Luengo.
Language: Spanish with annex with texts in English.
Soft cover with flaps.
ISBN:9789493039575
Dimensions: 24 x 28 cm (width x height).
Pages: 208.
Individually shrink-wrapped.
