From the Object to the Plot, and Vice Versa

Painter, engraver and sculptor, Nieto trained in her native Uruguay and in Paris, and was a member of the Joaquín Torres García Constructive Art Association. Her body of work moves between figuration and abstraction, always revolving around an internal vision that captures and conveys the essence of things through color. This work is part of the Búhos (Owls) series that explores a representation of disturbing characters who impose their hieratical presence over a backdrop of color and silence.

García Reino trained as a painter at the Circle of Fine Arts, and later with Joaquín Torres García and Carlos Prevosti, in Montevideo. Initially, his production is linked to the training orientation of post-cubism mannerism, spread by André Lhote. He then tends toward a refined abstraction—with certain elements of figuration—, in which he recreates port landscapes, seascapes, Montevideo skylights, still life, and female portraits with a strong melancholic atmosphere.

Solari trained as draftsman, engraver and painter in Montevideo, and later in Paris and New York, and was selected to represent Uruguay in the biennials of Sao Paulo (1951, 1965) and Venice (1972). His most widespread production is characterized by the figuration of vernacular origin, with folkloric roots and peasant myth, which delves into religious, gaucho and popular themes, through masked characters and zoomorphic beings who move through everyday scenes.

Battegazzore graduated from the School of Fine Arts (Uruguay), and was later granted scholarships to continue training in Germany, Italy and Portugal, and participated in numerous individual and group exhibitions, including the Sao Paulo Biennial (1979). His production recreates the symbols to understand the action of mankind. Along this path, his work went from abstraction to a personal figuration, in which there is an updated  reinterpretation of constructive universalism.

Nantes, winner of the Gold Medal in the National Salons of 1963 and 1965, and the Figari Award (1998), emerged as a great sculptor, using scrap metal and synthetic resins in projects of great creative subtlety, which were incorporated into public and private buildings. Faithful to his “habitual inclination to transform that which the memory has stored”, he makes use of color and line in almost childish ways, bringing freshness and imagery to a time and a world populated by disjointed beings.

Vila trained at the Torres García Studio, and later left for Europe and the United States. He participated in the biennials of Venice (1969, 2007) and La Habana (1997, 1999), among other exhibits, and obtained the Figari Award (2002).  Motivated by the city and its memory, his work is dominated by urband and everyday scenes that denote human presence. Anonymous or known faces, whether of neighbors, relatives, poets or personalities of the local culture and sports are recurrent.

A painter and engraver, Tonelli studied in Uruguay and later in Europe. He participated in numerous solo and group exhibitions, and in the biennials of Sao Paulo (1975, 1979, 1990) and La Habana (1986).  He adheres to the idea of a “symbolic objectivism”, in which the representation of objects is enlivened by a transcendent content. Many of his symbols —of esoteric tradition— “are disguised by plastic means, but reveal the artist’s confidence that the magic they summon can be revitalized”.

Ignacio Iturria has represented Uruguay in several biennials (Venice 1995, La Habana 2001) and received distinctions such as the First Prize in the National Salon of Visual Arts (1976) and the Figari Award (2001). His elaborate compositions of anecdotic and solitary nature are common. Always true to itself, his is an introspective painting imbued with mystery, that springs from memory and the unconscious, creating its own worlds, which exude a Montevidean atmosphere.

Painter and teacher, Patrone studied at the School of Architecture and was part of the Buenaventura Studio together with Carlos Seveso and others. She has participated in numerous international, solo and group exhibits, and received distinctions such as the Figari Award (2019). Her production is characterized by the development of a personal style and language of expressionist matrix, with a refined and pulsating use of line and color.  Her feminine figures, of pale faces and exuberant bodies, are generally set in everyday scenarios with passion-filled gazes

Engraver and sculptor, Cardillo studied art in Uruguay and Germany.  He teaches at university level in the United States, where he has lived since 1979. With impeccable technical resolution and conceptual rigor, his production maintains a clear political and ethical stance on issues such as man’s relationship with nature and his insertion in socio-cultural relations. His work includes engravings, drawings on paper, sculptural objects, photography, and large-scale installations.

María Elena Molinari is an engraver and painter. She studied with Rimer Cardillo and was influenced by Antonio Frasconi. She currently lives in Spain, where she teaches at the School of Fine Arts of the Complutense University of Madrid. In her first stage, she masters the technique of xylography, creating figurative compositions of monumental and ascetic forms. With great expressive wisdom, she delves into the problems of society, denouncing its edges of loneliness and helplessness.

José Trujillo has exhibited in various cities in the United States and Europe, and has obtained prestigious distinctions, such as the First Prize for Drawing at the 47^th National Salon (1983), and represented Uruguay at the Sao Paulo Biennial (1983). After exploring bad painting and abstract expressionism, his work is linked to naturalism and realism, drifting toward the representation of urban spaces plagued by magic and desolate scenes reminiscent of metaphysical surrealism in the 80s. 

A visual artist and Drawing teacher, with a degree in Film, Inés Olmedo studied and trained in her native Uruguay.  In the eighties she was part of the second wave of the el dibujazo movement, initiated in the sixties, when plastic artists made use of drawing to take a stand against the political and social events. Since then, she has exhibited her drawings individually and collectively, and has also collaborated as an illustrator in several books and weekly publications.

Felipe Secco has lived in Mexico, the United States and France, where he studied at Académie Julian. In Uruguay, where he currently lives, he attended the studio of Jorge Damiani, among others, and has had numerous solo and group exhibitions. Although he draws from nature, his production is close to European abstract constructivism, both in the study of the forms and in the importance of structure and fields of color.

BAssi initiated his studies with Pierre Fossey and José L. Montes in Uruguay, and studied in France after being awarded the Paul Cézanne Prize. He travelled through Europe, Africa, Mexico and the United States where he carried out multiple artistic residencies. His production is characterized by a stripped-back painting of large format, made of very subtle grays, crossed by a romantic intonation that, at times, reaches high emotional tension.