Maruja Mallo. Mask and Compass

From 8 October to 16 March 2026, the Reina Sofía Museum will be hosting the largest retrospective to date on one of the most innovative avant-garde artists: Maruja Mallo (Viveiro 1902 – Madrid 1995). This exhibition will bring together 90 works, including  paintings, drawings, writings, documents and videos.

Maruja Mallo is one of the leading figures of the Generation of ‘27, as well as the most important representative of the group of artists who were the first to present the female vision from a perspective that had never been seen before: that of the modern woman.

This exhibition chronologically retraces the various stages of the artist's career, in which her interest in popular art and magical realism evolved towards surrealism, passing through her relationship with the Vallecas School and the Constructivist Art Group created around Torres García from 1932 onwards.

The exhibition features 90 works, including paintings, drawings, writings, documents and videos that capture Maruja Mallo’s life and ideas. They reflect the artist’s influence among her peers in the 1930s, interrupted by war and exile.

Image Credits:

• Maruja Mallo, La verbena (The Fair), 1927. Reina Sofia National Art Centre Museum @ Maruja Mallo, VEGAP, Madrid, 2012
• Maruja Mallo. Sorpresa de trigo (Wheat Surprise), 1936. Oil on Canvas, 66 x 100 cm. Private Collection. © Maruja Mallo, VEGAP, Madrid, 2025.