Imaginary Numbers - Yves Tanguy

In 1954, Yves Tanguy painted "Imaginary Numbers," a work in which the landscape becomes a visual equation where mathematical logic merges with the uncertainty of dreams. The reference to imaginary numbers in the title suggests a parallel between art and mathematics: just as these numbers allow for the solving of equations with no solution in the real world, his impossible landscapes invite us to explore dimensions inaccessible to consciousness.

The elongated, softly illuminated forms reinforce the idea of a world in transformation. Unlike other surrealists, Tanguy eliminated any recognizable figurative reference, generating a language of his own based on pure subconscious. His painting, closer to the psychic automatism championed by André Breton, lays the groundwork for an abstraction that would influence Abstract Expressionism, especially in the work of Rothko and Matta, who would explore color and depth as emotional vehicles.

Surrealism, to which this work belongs, originated after Dadaism, but while the Dadaists challenged logic with irony and absurdity, the Surrealists explored the psyche as an infinite space for creation. In Imaginary Numbers, the absence of a concrete point of reference turns the painting into an enigma, where the viewer must find their own meaning in the enigmatic forms that emerge from the background. Painted in the final months of Tanguy's life, this work synthesizes his artistic evolution and his ability to materialize the unattainable.