The Centro Botín presents a retrospective exhibition of Maruja Mallo

Until September 14, the Centro Botín will be on display at the Centro Botín, showcasing 90 works by Maruja Torres, the artist who made women the protagonists of her paintings.

She was a member of the Generation of '27, along with intellectuals such as Rafael Alberti, Federico García Lorca, and Salvador Dalí. Furthermore, Maruja Mallo knew how to create an epic feminine essence in her paintings. She gave visibility to women and their world during a period when gender was far from the center of attention. Until September 14, many of her paintings are on display at the Centro Botín in Santander, in a retrospective exhibition held in conjunction with the Museo Reina Sofía.
What's the Maruja Mallo exhibition at the Centro Botín like?

The Centro Botín has opened its calendar with the exhibition "MARUJA MALLO: Mask and Compass. Paintings and Drawings from 1924 to 1982." The exhibition features more than ninety paintings, as well as drawings that span her entire career. The works reflect the magical realism of her early years to the geometric and fantastical configurations of her later works. Visitors can discover this comprehensive retrospective at the Botín art center until September 14, 2025. It is a tribute to Mallo, one of the most prominent figures of the Generation of '27. This was an important group of artists and writers based in Madrid, which included Rafael Alberti, Salvador Dalí, Federico García Lorca, Luis Buñuel, the writer Rosa Chacel, and the philosopher María Zambrano. Contributions from All Over

This exhibition by Maruja Mallo, presented by the Botín Center, is curated by Patricia Molins, a member of the Temporary Exhibitions Department of the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía. The exhibition features works from collections such as the MNCARS; the Art Institute of Chicago; the MNAM Centre Georges Pompidou, in Paris; and the Museo Nacional de Artes Visuales de Montevideo, Uruguay. Also included are the Museo Benito Quinquela Martín and the Museo de Arte Latinoamericano, both in Buenos Aires; and the Museo Provincial de Bellas Artes Rosa Galisteo, in Santa Fe, Argentina. From Spain, contributions have come from the Asociación Colección Arte Contemporáneo - Museo Patio Herreriano, in Valladolid; and the Museo Provincial de Lugo.

The exhibition is also accompanied by a publication, in Spanish and English, co-published by the Botín Foundation, the MNCARS, and the publishing house This Side Up. The text explores the telluric and theatrical aspects and theoretical foundations of the artist's work. It is illustrated with works from the exhibition. It also includes new texts by Argentine researcher Alejandra Zanetta, American artist and writer Johanna Hedva, the curator herself, as well as the artist's own writings, some of them previously unpublished. The catalog also includes a biography of Mallo written by Juan Pérez de Ayala, one of the leading and earliest scholars of her work.
Women as Protagonist

Mallo began her work during the period of economic crisis prior to the Civil War, when artists and intellectuals demonstrated a strong social commitment. In the interwar context, Mallo made women the protagonists of her paintings. Thus, she created an unprecedented feminine worldview from the perspective of modern women. In her work, she creates a feminine epic that did not exist in previous eras, when the feminine imaginary had been constructed by men. In this sense, Mallo anticipates that of the feminist artists of the 1970s.

The artist found inspiration for her early works in the colorfulness of folk art and the dynamism of film, music, and theater. This interest in folk art evolved in her work toward the rural, the land, and the work of the people. She incorporated syncretic religiosity, racial mixing, and lush landscapes into the paintings she created during her exile in the Americas, which she returned to after the outbreak of the Civil War.

Learn more about the Maruja Mallo exhibition organized by the Botín Center at this link.
Source