July 22, 1905, Vienna, Austria - September 24, 1959 (age 54 years), Taxco, Mexico

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Wolfgang Paalen was an Austrian-Mexican artist celebrated for his innovative Surrealist fumages—works created by manipulating soot patterns left by a lit candle on paper or canvas. Paalen described his art as an effort “to find the invisible within the visible.” Born in Vienna, Austria, he was deeply influenced by his father’s collection of Old Master paintings. He later studied under Fernand Léger in Paris, where he became part of the Surrealist circle, forging connections with André Breton, Salvador Dalí, and Max Ernst.

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In 1939, fleeing the Nazi invasion of France, Paalen relocated to Mexico at Frida Kahlo’s urging, joining a community of European Surrealists that included Leonora Carrington and Leonor Fini. His travels to British Columbia and encounters with indigenous totem poles profoundly shifted his focus, leading to works that explored nature and cosmic forces over intellectual abstraction.

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Paalen's life ended tragically by suicide in Taxco, Mexico. His legacy endures through collections at major institutions, including the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.