Dr. Hugo Achugar, National Director of the Ministry of Education and Culture in Uruguay.
Uruguay
34° 53' 0" S - 56° 10' 0" W
According to the Democracy Index of The Economist, Uruguay is the most democratic country in Latin America. Located in the southern part of South America, Uruguay is roughly the size of the state of Florida neighboring Argentina and Brazil. Uruguay is a member of MERCOSUR (Southern Common Market) together with Paraguay, Brazil, Argentina and Venezuela. According to the UN, Uruguay has the highest literacy rate in Latin America, is rated as the least corrupt, and ranks first in the Human Development Index "Latinoamérica" . It ranks fifth in life expectancy, has one of the highest GDP per capita, a relatively high rate in income equality and quite a high level of press freedom. It was the first Latin American country to recognize and legalize same and different sex civil unions.
Within this context, a vigorous cultural movement has flourished in Uruguay. Action and thought have been two pillars of Uruguayan culture. Unlike what happens in other Latin American countries, the European influence on Uruguayan culture is clearly evident. Immigration, mainly from Spain and Italy, together with a temperate climate and its "slightly undulating" landscape, have contributed to form a character quite different from that of other Latin American countries, especially those from Central America and the Caribbean.
In visual arts also, our country has developed an identity of its own. Since the end of the 19th century, Uruguayan fine arts have been original and highly marked by commitment and reflection. Authentic and with a deep sense of identity, it has developed a personality of its own. This is easily perceived in the works of Juan Manuel Blanes, Carlos Federico Sáez, José M. Palleja, José Cuneo, Pedro Figari, Rafael Barradas, Guillermo Laborde, Petrona Viera, Carlos González, Alfredo De Simone, Joaquín Torres García, Francisco Matto, José Gurvich, Alverto Castellanos, Manuel Espinola Gómez, Juan Ventayol, Gonzalo Fonseca, Amalia Nieto, Germán Cabrera, José Pedro Costigliolo, Maria Freire, Washington Barcala, Americo Sposito, Hugo Nantes, Hugo Longa, Guillermo Fernández, Luis A. Solari, Antonio Frasconi, Nelson Ramos, and others.
Research and critical thought are also present in artists whose work can be included under the framework of contemporary art, such are the cases of Marco Maggi, Enrique Aguerre, Eduardo Cardozo, Rimer Cardillo, Luis Camnitzer, Carlos Capelán, Agueda Dicancro, Wifredo Díaz Valdez, Alberto Lastreto, Cecilia Mattos, Ignacio Iturria, Daniel Gallo, Ernesto Vila, Lacy Duarte, José Gamarra, Carlos Musso, Carlos Seveso, Fernando López Lage, Carlos Barea, Federico Arnaud, Cecilia Vignolo, Pablo Uribe, Raúl Álvarez "Rulfo", Raquel Bessio, Álvaro Zinno, Magela Ferrero, Mario Sagradini, Clemente Padín, Diego Focaccio, Javier Bassi, as well as the younger artists, Martin Verges, Juan Uria, Dani Umpi, Ernestina Pereira, Gustavo Jauge, Sergio Porro, Julia Castaño, Mercedes Bustelo, Pedro Tyler, Alejandro Schmidt, Ana Campanella, Alejandro Cruz, Francisco Tomsich, Santiago Velazco, Guillermo Stoll, Martin Pelenur, Ana Bidart, Francisca Maya, etc.
For the 15th Los Angeles Art Show in Los Angeles, California, where Uruguay has the honor of having been invited to participate, the Uruguayan exhibition includes artworks of seven important Uruguayan artists with either a great or a considerable career. The selection aims at displaying a small panorama of Uruguayan fine arts. Four of the selected artists, Ernesto Vilas, Lacy Duarte, Nelson Ramos and Wifredo Días Valdez, are quite acknowledged artists with important careers and can be called "Maestros" (Masters), all of them winners of the prestigious Figari Prize. In addition, we have included artworks of three other artists, Raquel Bessio, Pablo Uribe and Jan Burgos, who all participated in the 53rd International Art Exhibition of the Venice Biennale, in the Pavilion of Uruguay in Los Giardinni. The selection made for the LA Art Show aims at reflecting the diversity of the contemporary arts production in Uruguay and the significance of issues such as identity, globalization, memory and critical reflection in Uruguayan fine arts.
Ernesto Vila -a disciple of Jose Gurvish in Torres García Workshop- exhibits his delicate works made of paper. His portraits call our attention to memory and its fragility. He has created a huge series of portrait-silhouettes with rushes of paper and other waste material which compose a sort of "santoral" of Uruguayan typical characters in search for a "portrait without a name", an anonymous portrait which may stand for us all.
Lacy Duarte, a woman of humble rural origin, explores the loss of identity suffered by a rural woman displaced to the city, but also how her identity remains in her memory. The artist aims at and succeeds in recovering her childhood life experiences and recollections. Her search for healing is similar to that of the "curanderas" (name used for healer women who use plants and old rites to heal) who acted as medical doctors in rural areas faraway from urban centers.
Nelson Ramos, who has recently died, was a great maestro, with a true teaching vocation. He was first immersed in the so called New Figuration, then passed through a stage of a sort of Rioplatense pop (from de Rio de la Plata) and experimented with matter and geometry in painting as well as with the de-contextualization of the object, where concept and craftsmanship met in an accomplished balance.
Wifredo Días Valdez, also of peasant origin, is an artist, a woodworker, a freethinker and a self-educated man. His sculptures are marked by the un-building of the object and its memory. With an excellent technique, he plays with the object in a highly poetic and lucid way, using noble native woods that had been once man-made objects. He recycles, builds and un-builds.
Raquel Bessio's work, in general installations or interventions, explores political or social issues. The selected piece is a new version of the one recently exhibited in the Venice Biennale. The difference being that where all national emblems of South American countries were present, here only those of Argentina and Uruguay appear. Relationships between both countries - historically considered as "brothers", have been increasingly tense in the last few years. This is ironically treated by Bessio, and it is evident even in the very title of the work, which, paraphrasing the children's game where petals are taken from a daisy reciting the phrase "loves me, loves me little, loves me not", reads "Te quiero mucho, poquito y nada" (love you, love you little, love you not).
Pablo Uribe explores two traditional subjects of art: landscape and portrait, to generate a reflection on "the real" and "the represented", reality and fiction, and on the representation within the representation. Uribe has experimented with different idioms, such as engravings and interviews, and has obtained the most prestigious award in fine Arts given in Uruguay (the National Award which is granted by the Ministry of Education and Culture). In the video an actor imitates the sound of native animals in the Monte Criollo (typical forests of our country).
Juan Burgos is a creator of neo pop, gothic-latinoamerican images and baroque images that show a strong criticism to the consumerist society and the present influence of Oriental culture on Occident. His meticulous collages evoke the frenzied rhythm of contemporary urban life. These are New Baroque images of supermarkets, Internet and consumerism where the artist uncovers thorny issues, such as, power, religion, the church, money, sex, war, hate or love.
These are all works where there is no room for a frivolous joy without content nor for a world without ethics, they go far beyond this. They demand us to reflect, participate and commit.
Juan Burgos was born in Durazno, Uruguay in 1963. He currently lives and works in Montevideo, Uruguay. He studied at the Escuela Nacional de Bellas Artes (School of Fine Arts of the University of the Republic) between 1986 and 1988. After a five-year-course of studies at the Instituto Strasser, he earned his Degree in Industrial Modeling and Mode Design in 1982. He was selected to represent Uruguay in the 53rd Venice Biennale, Italy, in 2009 where he was awarded Second Prize. He has been recognized with many awards including the Award of the Premio Nacional de Artes Visuales, Premio OSDE Foundantion Award, Buenos Aires, Premio Paul Cézanne, Paris, to name a few.
Raquel Bessio
Raquel Bessio was born in Montevideo, Uruguay in 1946 and continues to live and work in her hometown. She studied architecture at the Universidad de la Republica (University of the Republic - UDELAR) and in 1984, started studies in visual arts, encompassing both traditional techniques and experimental ones, with the following teachers: Ernesto Aroztegui (1984-1988), Sara Pacheco (1989) and Jorge Soto (1990-1996). Selected to represent Uruguay in the 53rd Venice Biennale, Italy, in 2009. She represented Uruguay at the Bienal SIART, La Paz, Bolivia in 2005, the VIII Bienal de Cuenca, Cuenca, Ecuador, 2004; the Premio Regional Fundaciõn OSDE, Buenos Aires, Argentina, and the Primer Premio en Proyecto, Salõn Nacional de Artes Plàsticas, Montevideo, Uruguay, 2001; the Primer Premio Intervenciòn Urbana Bienal de Salto, Uruguay and the Gran Premio Salõn Municipal 1999.
Born in 1932, Wilfred Diaz Valdez educated himself. In 1962 he started sculpting wood and exploring the morphological possibilities of expression with this material. In 1985 he was selected to represent Uruguay in the XVIII Bienal de San Pablo. He has been honored with the following awards; Premio Fraternidad by B'nai B'rith Uruguay, 1991; Mid Amercan arts Alliance (MAAA), Kansas City, 1992; and the Premio Pedro Figari of the Central Bank of Uruguay, 1999. In the early 80's he made an important change in sculpting expressivity by un-building objects of use, such as violins, furniture or knobs, and rebuilding them. He re-makes them by producing a metamorphosis in material that has already undergone a manufacturing process, the "encountered objects". His works show in the Museo Nacional de Artes Visuales, Uruguay; Museo Paraguayo de Arte Contemporáneo,Paraguay; Fundación San Telmo, Argentina, Fundación Museo de Bellas Artes de Caracas, Venezuela, BID Collection, Washington, Colección Banco Central and Colección "Edificio Libertad", Montevideo.
Lacy Duarte was born September 15, 1937, in Mataojo de Salto, in the North part of the country, an area highly influenced by the Brazilian culture, and studied with José Cziffery. She currently lives and works in Montevideo and Maldonado, Uruguay. To date she has participated in many collective exhibitions and has had several important solo exhibitions both in Uruguay and abroad. She has been selected to participate in prestigious International Biennales including III Bienal de la Habana 1987 and the 51st Venice Biennale in 2005. In 2002 she was given the significant award: Premio Pedro Figari, granted by the Central Bank of Uruguay, for her outstanding career.
Nelson Ramos was born in Soriano, Uruguay, 1932. He died in Montevideo in 2006. He entered the National School of Fine Arts of Montevideo in 1951, and studied with Vicente Martín. In 1959 he traveled to Río de Janeiro with a scholarship granted by ITAMARATI (Foreign Service of Brazil) to study engraving techniques with Iberé Camargo and Johnny Friedlaender at the Art Museum of Rio de Janeiro. He then established himself in Sao Paulo and worked in textile drawing, and collaborated with two newspapers Estado de Sao Paulo and Diario de Sao Paulo. In 1971, he created the Centro de Expresión Artística (Art Expression Center). In 1981, Ramos was hired by the College of Art and Design of Minneapolis to teach courses and conferences in several Universities. In 1992, he was a resident artist in the Massachusetts College of Art, Boston. He has represented Uruguay in the following Biennales: VII, X, and XVIII, Sao Paulo Bienal, Brazil, XXXII and XLVII Venice Biennale, Italy. First and second Medellin Bienal, Colombia, La Habana First International Bienal, Havana, Cuba, and the First Interparlamentary Bienal of MERCOSUR, Uruguay.
La Tierra Prometida "Te quiero mucho poquito y nada" (The Promise Land "Love you, love you little, love you not") | Stainless steel, wood, canvas and ash
250 x 45 x70 cm Photo Antonella De Ambroggi
"Camuflage", 2009 (Camouflage)
Collage in paper.
136 x 105 x 4 cm
Quebracho Wood
13 x 24 x 58cm
Photo Antonella De Ambroggi
"Reminiscencia", 2000 (Reminiscence)
Oil on canvas
50 x 40 cm
Photo Antonella De Ambroggi
"El Coleccionista", 1992 (The Collector)
Mixed media on Cardboard and wood.
110 x 85 x 10 cm
Photo Antonella De Ambroggi
Born in Montevideo, 1962, Pablo Uribe studied architecture at the Universidad de la República and visual arts under Guillermo Fernandez. Throughout his career he has had numerous solo exhibits both in Uruguay and internationally including 2008 Contemporary Arts Museum, Sao Paulo, Brazil; 2006, Museo Municipal de Bellas Artes Juan Manuel Blanes, Montevideo, Uruguay; Centro Cultural Florencio Sánchez, Uruguay; 2005, Centro Cultural de España, Montevideo, Uruguay; 2003 IV Bienal del Mercosur, Porto Alegre, Brazil; 2003 Le Pavá dans la Mare, Besançon, France; 2002 Galería Pancho Fierro, Lima, Peru; 2000 VII Bienal de La Habana, Cuba; 1999 Museo y Archivo Histórico Municipal Cabildo de Montevideo, Montevideo, Uruguay, II Bienal del Mercosur, Porto Alegre, Brazil, 1996 Alianza Francesa de Montevideo, Uruguay; 1990 Galería de la Cinemateca Uruguaya, Montevideo, Uruguay.. His participation in collective exhibits at galleries, exhibitions and fairs span the globe as well in countries such as; Brazil, Italy, France, Sweden, Argentina, Venezuela and his own Uruguay. Pablo Uribe has been the recipient of a host of awards and recognitions for his decades of excellent work.
Pablo Uribe
Atardecer, 2009.
Video installation. Diptych, 16'. High Definition.
Dimensions variable.
Production stills. Courtesy the artist
© Pablo Uribe, Photo Rafael Lejtreger
Born, Montevideo, 1936. Studied in Torres García Workshop. Ernesto Vila has had numerous solo exhibits spanning over 3 decades including: Museum of Modern Art of Latin America, Washington DC; the Museo Nacional de Artes Visuales; Molino de Pérez 2001; Museo J. M. Blanes 1995 y 1992; Palacio Municipal, IMM 1990; Galerie Worpswede, Bonn 1988; Galerie KÀrt, ParIs; Galería Ciudadela; GalerIa Vazelay 1986; Galería Le Loir, Paris 1983; GalerIa U 1972. He has also participated in many collective exhibitions including: "Arte, deshonra y violencia", Centro Cultural de España 2007; Galería Marte Upmarket 2005; "Diálogos", Museo Zorrilla de San MartIn 2001; "Identidad & Vanalidad", CCE 2000; Midland Group Gallery, England 1968; Galerie "Nouvelles Images", La Haya 1966. Vila has also had the honor of being invited to the Venice Biennale in 2007 and 1970, the Bienal Mercosoul, Porto Alegre 2003; the Tallinna XI Grafika Triennaalle, Tallin, Estonia 1998; the Bienal de la Habana 1998; the Bienal de Cuenca-Ecuador 1989; and the Paris Bienal 1969.
"Retratos Uruguayos", 2009 (Portraits of Uruguayans)
Mixed media.
Dimensions variable.
Photo Antonella De Ambroggi
This not all you can enjoy, but enjoy anyway
Uruguayan visual arts have a long and rich tradition despite the fact that the country's independence was obtained in 1830. The most renowned artists of Uruguay -Joaquin Torres García, Barradas, and Pedro Figari- belong to the Avant-Garde period and can be found in museums and private collections in the United States, Europe and Latin America. However, the Uruguayan visual arts tradition cannot be reduced to these names and has a wide and diverse range of poetics and agendas; the present exhibition shows only a small selection of Uruguayan contemporary artists.
Uruguayan culture is characterized by an intense dialogue with South American and West European art and cultures and by a quality that is scarcely known in non-specialist circles. This is so, even though sculptors, painters and other non conventional artists have been invited for more than half a century by international Biennales in Venice (Italy), Sao Paulo (Brazil), Germany, Spain, Ecuador, Cuba and more recently, in China, Korea and Japan.
A heterogeneous variety of materials, codes and visual poetics as well as an extreme tension between the local and the global, characterize this Uruguayan Art show. This is also valid for manyother artists who are not shown on this occasion, many of whom -like José Gurvich, Ignacio Iturria, José Gamarra, Luis
The list of Uruguayan artists could go on and on, but the purpose of these lines is not to be exhaustive, but to highlight the existence of an immense and amazing variety of extraordinary artistic value and that there is much more in Uruguayan art than what is being presented in this LA Art Show.
Hugo Achugar
December 2009
The Contemporary Art Space (EAC or Espacio de Arte Contemporáneo, in Spanish) fills a void with an official environment, giving way to a new era devoted to contemporary art with all of it's problems and challenges. The EAC is being developed by the Ministry of Culture & Education of Uruguay on the former sight of Miguelete Prison, built at the end of the 19th century using the Panopticon design principle, similar to that of the Pentonville prison in England. The building closed as a prison over 20 years ago, and also houses the Center of Industrial Design. The complex encompasses more than 10,000 square meters representing enormous development potential for cultural initiatives and is intended to become an important axis of transformation for downtown Montevideo.
The Spanish Agency for the International Cooperation and Development (AECID) has made a very important economic contribution during this first stage of construction, providing the infrastructure and necessary technical equipment for the new building. The next step towards fulfilling EAC's enormous potential is to be funded with contributions by other official and private entities in collaboration with Government investment in building renovation.
The EAC objectives will be: to establish an international presence for the promotion, production, research and exhibition of contemporary art; to facilitate integration with related institutions, both at local and international levels that will foster the formation of networks, co-productions, and exchanges for mutual benefit, to act as a meeting point between artists, theorists, and a diverse public by encouraging the cultural appropriation of space in order to build citizenship; and last but not least, to schedule training activities involving production, perception, and assessment of contemporary art.
The EAC's program will be formed from its opening at the beginning of the year 2010, with both local and international exhibitions, with an emphasis on research, experimentation and interactivity. EAC aims to sustain a rigorous but open attitude towards artistic production, and facilitate the collective construction of critical thinking. The local and regional artistic community has shown great interest and support in this new and necessary space for Uruguay with the recent introduction of more than 150 art projects this year, all without a fixed opening date. We accept the challenge with great enthusiasm, and we invite you to get in touch and take part.
Fernando Sicco
EAC Project Director
November 2009