TERÁN
Dora Maar Emerging from the well
| size |
H330 W240 mm |
| Year of production |
2025 |
| Categories |
Painting |
| Shipping |
Expected to ship within 3-4 weeks after the exhibition ends Please see above for details on shipping charges. |
| material |
Oil on Canvas |
作品説明
In this artwork, Picasso walks slowly through the garden at midnight, under a moonless sky, a lantern trembling in his hand. Its warm light barely cuts through the darkness when, suddenly, beside the old well, the air stirs. From its damp, hollow mouth rises a figure—Dora Maar—emerging like a column of smoke, sinuous, fragmented, beautiful and broken. Her face dissolves and reforms with every flicker of the flame. The lantern shakes harder. Around him, everything holds still.
Her laughter, her tears, her rage, her love—all return in muffled waves. Picasso does not flee. He watches. Old guilt coils around him. The smoke knows him.
Sara-yashiki is one of Japan’s most well-known ghost stories, told in various regions with slightly different versions. The most familiar version features a servant woman named Okiku, who is blamed for breaking one of a valuable set of ten dishes. As punishment, she is severely beaten and thrown into a well, where she dies. After her death, her ghost is said to appear night after night, counting the dishes in the well—"One... two... three..."—a chilling tale of injustice and revenge.
In this artwork, Hokusai offers a highly imaginative interpretation of the story. Instead of depicting a traditional ghost, he shows a spectral figure rising from the well with seven plates strung together like a long, snake-like neck. The plates twist and coil like a serpent, entangled in her hair, giving the ghost a surreal, almost humorous appearance reminiscent of the “rokurokubi,” a long-necked yokai (supernatural creature) from Japanese folklore.
Strangely, the ghost even seems to exhale smoke or flame, as if casually puffing on a pipe—an unusual and playful touch. The stacked plates resemble the scales of a snake, blending eeriness with artistic whimsy. While the story is one of horror, Hokusai’s version captures both the fear and the fascination that Edo-period audiences had for ghost tales, blending the grotesque with the imaginative.
This print is a brilliant example of Hokusai’s creativity, transforming a classic ghost story into a visually unique and thought-provoking work.
アーティスト
TERÁN
Terán is an internationally acclaimed artist whose work has been shown in renowned galleries and art fairs in Europe and Latin America. His expression is characterized by a unique painterly language that blends tradition and modernity, and he continues to explore the possibilities of art while incorporating new techniques, focusing on urban landscapes and visual memories. Recent projects include the critically acclaimed "Making-of", which was exhibited in galleries across Spain in 2024. In addition, he will exhibit "Homage to Fontana" at the Ateneo de Madrid in 2025, a work that pays tribute to Lucio Fontana, an iconic figure in contemporary art.
Also in April 2025, Teran will present his new "Fantasías de Picasso" series in Tokyo, marking his first solo exhibition in Japan. This exhibition marks an important milestone in Teran's career, creating a rare opportunity to create a visual dialogue across cultures through his encounter with a Japanese audience. Teran's work has a unique perspective, challenging tradition by crossing different styles and reconstructing the codes of painting. The series will travel to Helsingborg, Sweden at the end of the year, expanding his international activities. He uses irony as a creative tool with a bold approach, questioning how the viewer interacts with the image.
Over the years, his work has received numerous accolades, and in 2013 he was named one of the "100 Personalities of Latin America" in Madrid. He has also presented works paying tribute to great artists, such as "Retrato Capital", which has traveled to various cities since 2005, and the "Homage to Geniuses" series, presented at the Antonio Saura Foundation and the Ateneo de Madrid. In addition, he will participate in the "Latin American Week" held at the UNESCO Paris headquarters in 2022, strengthening his presence on the international art scene.
From Madrid to Tokyo and around the world, Terán continues to explore the boundaries of contemporary painting, offering a vision of art that transcends borders and enriches today's art scene.