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.
My geographical place has always been a part of my work; being recognized as a painter of people, that is where my “factory” is. The materials that I frequently use (tools, laborers’ gloves, bags of lime and cement, etc.) respond to a dialogue established with the objects. This field of labor is one of the scaffolds that support my production and based on my life and being the son of a worker, the connection with the objects I work with is a matter of "skin". These relationships relate to my own history, but also to the objects on stake, its usage, its brands –which count as much as the marks on the faces and hands of the workers exposed to sunlight, wind and frost-. The media in which I present the work consists of wooden structures which dimensions are approximate in scale with that of a concrete block for building walls. On these bases 580 workers’ gloves disposed by usage in a lime factory were assembled. My relationship with the workers is vital in my work because they collect these valuable materials in the limestone for me; I gather them once a month since 2000.
2. In general terms, how would you suggest to approach your work?
The way I suggest to read my work is trying to get involved with it, in this case, with the gloves, their used colors, their "scars" ...to own it in order to establish any kind of connection. The way the panels are set pretend to make it look like a wall (by the way the blocks are locked) that can be read in different ways: as construction, as division, as impossibility or possibility. Ultimately I think that in some works the visitor “reads”, reading himself at the same time.
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?
It is inevitable not to recognize oneself in any artistic field beyond intentions. It is not my interest to belong to a specific movement, but based on my supposed honesty while producing, the work takes with its own identity. I do find certain relation ship with the povera and conceptual art. The interaction with those who provide me with the gloves provoked the enrollment of other languages such as videos, photography and performance. Leaving aside for a moment the admiration I have for my teachers, to avoid obvious matters, some of my references (among many others, due to the diversity of my work) are Victor Grippo, Joseph Beuys, Eduardo Vigo, Gabriel Orozco and Rembrandt (his work and life). These references are not always a very strong influence on the aesthetic aspect of my work, it is sometimes their way of thinking or an attitude of life what help me reflecting, seeing and projecting myself.
4. Choose works or exhibitions from the last ten or fifteen years which in your opinion were very significant and explain why
I Choose Victor Grippo’s exhibition done a few years ago at MALBA. He is one of the most particular artists of the country, for his production and thought. An exhibition that was held in the city of La Plata (December 2007) during the re-opening of the Museum of Fine Arts, then headed by Prof. Silvio Oliva Drys, where they presented the works of the heritage of the museum. To me, it oxygenated to the history of Argentine Art. With an impeccable location, the paintings and sculptures were restored, it all made me imagine the authors, there, beside their paintings; it seemed like at some point of the evening I was going to personally meet Prilidiano Pueyrredón, Malinverno, Koek Koek, Guttero, Spilimbergo, Figari, Berni, Pettoruti, Sivori, Forner, Fontana, Lacámera, Victor and some others.
5. What tendencies or groupings from common elements do you see in argentine art of the last ten or fifteen years?
The most interesting trends I see are related to various artists who give workshops of analysis of work and many of them related to the Centro Cultural Rojas.
