Maruja Mallo: Máscara y Compás / Mask and Compass

Maruja Mallo: Mask and Compass is the richly illustrated catalog accompanying the first major retrospective of Maruja Mallo in decades. The exhibition, presented at Centro Botín and Museo Reina Sofía in Madrid spans nearly sixty years of the artist’s career, from 1924 to 1982.

The book showcases Mallo’s vibrant paintings and drawings, highlighting her role as one of the most daring voices of Spain’s modern avant-garde. A central figure of the so-called “Generation of ’27” and a close associate of artists and intellectuals such as Dalí, Lorca, and Alberti, Mallo developed a unique visual language that combined Surrealist imagination with geometric order, theatricality, and an enduring fascination with nature.

Essays by leading scholars trace the evolution of her style, from early urban scenes and festive images of popular culture, to her Surrealist compositions infused with masks, symbols, and myth, and finally to the luminous geometric abstractions of her later years.

Lavishly illustrated with works from public and private collections, Mask and Compass not only celebrates Maruja Mallo’s artistic achievement but also reclaims her rightful position as one of Spain’s most original and uncompromising modern artists.