Óscar Domínguez

Rollercoaster, Cubist Etching by Oscar Dominguez

circa 1945

Óscar Domínguez was an abstract, Surrealist artist who popularized the decalcomania technique of layering thin sheets of gouache on paper and then applying it to canvas. He practiced Surrealist automatism, which was used prominently by early 20th-century Dadaists. In a trance-like state, the artist becomes a conduit through which uninhibited, raw thoughts can flow through a paintbrush, pen or other tool. The result is the uncanny imagery of the subconscious mind realized in paintings and sculptures. 

Domínguez was interested in art at a young age, due in part to the acromegaly disease that kept him from more physical pursuits. He found solace and freedom in creative expression. He spent his youth on the Spanish island of Tenerife in the Canary Islands, raised by his grandmother. At 21, Domínguez moved to Paris, France. He worked for his father’s fruit export business by day. At night, he frequented cabarets and immersed himself in the culture. He also avidly visited museums and attended classes at different art schools. He became enamored with the works of Spanish artist Pablo Picasso and French painter Yves Tanguy, which influenced his early paintings and drawings. 

Domínguez had his first solo show in 1933 at the Círculo de Bellas Artes in Tenerife. His work is in the permanent collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, the Bilbao Fine Art Museum and the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Domínguez’s paintings and sculptures influenced artists like Max Ernst and Hans Bellmer. 

On 1stDibs, find a selection of Óscar Domínguez’s paintings, prints and multiples and drawings and watercolors.