Biography
Nicolas Mastracchio was born in 1983 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he lives and works today.
He has attended at the Programa de Artistas at Universidad Torcuato Di Tella, Buenos Aires (2009), Beca Kuitca at Universidad Torcuato Di Tella (2010) and Skowhegan School of Painting & Sculpture, Maine (2012).
Has been the recipient of several awards including, Premio Estimulo at Museo Castagnino, Rosario (2011), Beca Fondo Nacional de las Artes, Buenos Aires (2012) and Premio Lucio Fontana, Buenos Aires - Turin (2013).
His work has been shown individually at Centro Cultural Recoleta, 2015; Galería ZavaletaLab, 2014, Galeria Pilar, São Paulo, 2013, Universidad Torcuato Di Tella, 2011, Galería Mite, 2009; Limite Sud, 2008; Centro Cultural Recoleta, 2007, and Galería Appetite, 2007
Other venues which have hosted group exhibitions include Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Buenos Aires, 2014; Museo de Arte Moderno de Buenos Aires, 2012; Museo de Arte Contemporáneo Zuribá, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Rosario, 2012; Alianza Francesa, Buenos Aires, 2006; and the Galería Luis Adelantado Valencia, 2007.
Mastracchio has also participated in site-specific projects at Prisma KH, Buenos Aires, 2014; and at Proyecto Alimentación30, Madrid, 2015.
His work is included in the public collection of MALBA, Fundación Constantini; Museo de Arte Moderno de Buenos Aires; and in the Colección Patricia Phelps de Cisneros.
Vision of art
1. Choose a work that represents you, describe it in relation to its format and materiality, its relation with time and space, its style and theme; detail its production process.
February of 2008. The work I choose is my last exhibition: I ♥ Your PICS “I wanted this exhibition to be like: seeing a daybreak in the beach, listening to electronic music, take a picture of yourself in that moment and send it to someone you love”. Is a photography exhibition. All the images has a high level of resource economy, I portrayed my self: hands, face, body parts; these works with some daily object; cellphones, CD's, thread, etc. The operations in every picture are minimum: a person slanting his eyes, fingers coming out the sand, a fragment of a song tattooed in a back. The design of each image and edition of the “staging” is based in observations of what I consume every day: magazines, flickr, the city, etc...My expression is affected by what I'm seeing in this moment.
What I like most of my job is when the ideas little by little takes a shape and creates sense. In this pieces, the formal or conceptual decisions are: intuitive impulses and mechanisms mixes responding to a logic.
2. In general terms, how would you suggest to approach your work?
I try my works to be able for all kind of public, let's say, able to dialog with all people who goes watching the work, in an exhibition, a fair or Internet, I don't want to leave anyone aside. I would like my works to free the viewer to a full of sensations trip.
3. In reference to your work and your position in the national and international art fields, what tradition do you recognize yourself in? Who are your contemporary referents? What artists of previous generations are of interest to you?
I watch a COLORS magazine issue that I keep from march of 1995, I see it once and another. I have cork board in my room with a collection of different sea images. I like fashion magazines, and design. To watch movies and TV.
In this last years I looked art works in Internet and books, I liked it a lot ( this list is an artists ranking): Damien Hirst, Jason Rhoades, Wolfgang Tillmans, Cattelan, Fischli & Weiss, Olafur Eliasson, Jeff Koons, Anne de Vries, Erwin Wurm, Tom Fidman, Edward Hopper, Gregory Crewdson, Thomas Hirschhorn, Christo, Matthew Barney, Dalí, Tobias Rehberger and Andreas Gursky.
4. Choose works or exhibitions from the last ten or fifteen years which in your opinion were very significant and explain why
Miguel Mitlag
Cecilia Szalkowicz
Marcelo Pombo: his '90 works with product boxes
Gastón Pérsico: his exhibition at the French Alliance (2006)
Eduardo Navarro: his next exhibition (2008)
Valentina Liernur: the sculptures she have done for A.Y.Notdead, Golden Days (2007) and her paintings at Ruth Benzacar
Flavia da Rin: the pictures I've seen between 2005-07, I want to see her next exhibitions
Guillermo Faivovich: Park (2005)
Macchi: the fretwork newspapers
Lamothe: Maine in wood (2007)
Diego de Aduriz: his exhibition at Appetite (2007)
Diego Bianchi: My Summer Bunker Project (2006)