Qué se puede hacer salvo ver [What else can we do but watch?] (2021) by Gala AltamareFundación Itaú Argentina
En este conjunto hay obras que remiten a la pandemia
in a direct way. Others, from their polysemy, allow us to reconsider what we have lived.The world stopped and left us in shock. What can we do but watch is the title of this small oil by Gala Altamare, in which each element seems suspended in a dense atmosphere.
A woman sitting with her gaze lost in the middle of a pensive landscape.
The act of waiting. Infinite time of contemplation.
If on the street and the outside world, there were plenty of reasons and circumstances, in the confinement the minimal became a subject for representation.
Sin título de la Serie “Gran- hito” [Untitled, from the series “Gran-hite”] (2021) by Nicolás BassiFundación Itaú Argentina
Granite, a material used for kitchens and bathrooms for decades, is the motive of this painting.
Through the careful imitation, Nicolás Bassi gives prominence to an unnoticed domestic pattern.
Jazmines 12 [Jasmines 12] (2020) by Gerardo ObertoFundación Itaú Argentina
Time is a fleeing phenomenon. Painting can be a way to understand what happens and what is left behind. During the pandemic, Gerardo Oberto painted jasmines repeatedly.
Every leaf and every petal distill life and perfume, yet at the same time announce their caducity.
A flower bouquet in the limit between seduction and nostalgia.
Several works refer to a habitat: a domesticated and quiet place that, activated by the delay, reveals its ominous existence.
Altar cotidiano [Daily altar] (2021) by Rosario López ErcoliFundación Itaú Argentina
Walls, bases and furniture incarnate an emotional memory.
A dozen of vibrant and colorful corners that Rosario López Ercoli transforms into an altar from the quiet of her rest period. When everything stops, the energies contained in the past seem to beat in every object.
Análisis conciliatorio [Conciliatory analysis] (2022) by Fernanda KuselFundación Itaú Argentina
Leftovers of a petrified feast
An elegant pink cup on which a firefly lies
a disposable cup from which a slimy coffee spills.
Pastries, a champagne cork and other random elements lie on an acrylic table. In this work by Fernanda Kusel, each element irradiates a certain strangeness, enhancing the instability of the ensemble.
In a time of waiting, the collage opens like a playful opportunity. The next two works emerge from and to a game.
Sin título, de la serie Mirá por acá [Untitled, from the series Look over here] (2021) by Belén PérezFundación Itaú Argentina
Clipped and fragmented images resignified in a new configuration.
Architectonic angles and fragments,
join with costume pieces
In the series Look over here, Belén Pérez invites us to be spies of unsettling and phantasmagoric spaces.
Relicario [Reliquary] Relicario, Jorge Alberto Sanchez, 2020Fundación Itaú Argentina
Based on a suit bag, Jorge Alberto Sánchez ensembled textiles found on the street before the lockdown, composing this Reliquary.
Ribbons, clothes and lacings mix with the waving lines of the embroidery.
A carnival of sensations that spectators can discover if they look inside.
From action and movement to the paralysis of confinement. The daily pulse, like a heartbeat that soon fades, and there we stay, still, traversed by suspense.
LAVATORY [LAVATORIO], registry of the performance “Cuánto vacío puede llenar un mueble” (How much emptiness can a piece of furniture fill) (2022) by Ariana BeilisFundación Itaú Argentina
In her series How much emptiness can a piece of furniture fill Ariana Beilis registers actions in which her body imitates the furniture that surrounds her. Artifacts that exist when they are activated in their use. Actions performed in an awkward stillness.
From isolation to openness. Finally. Even still, the promise of returning to public life brings the suspicion that nothing will be the same.
We talk about a “new normality”. The questions multiply. Was there any normality anyway? To what does this new reality oppose? Who configures it?
Caminar por la paz [Walk for peace] Caminar por la paz [Walk for peace] (2021) by Micaela PiñeroFundación Itaú Argentina
In Caminar por la Paz Walk for peace, Micaela Piñero designs expressive bronze shoes full of symbols, flowers and poetry.
Some tiny boots to militate harmony from vulnerability.
Detenido y Andando [Stopped and Moving] (2021) by Elisa StradaFundación Itaú Argentina
In Detenido y Andando Stopped and moving, Elisa Strada approaches an urban scene.
In the spots of the painting, the noise and intensity of a demonstration sound.
The certainty that we are with others.
Abrir agujeros a la realidad [To open holes to reality] (2020) by Gabriela BoerFundación Itaú Argentina
From the language of abstraction, Gabriela Boer combines shapes and colors that open to infinity.
Portals that multiply realities.
Alternative accesses. Interstices.
to open holes to reality should always be an alternative.
Credits:
Itaú Argentina Foundation
José Pagés
Clarice Bentolila
Anabella Ciana
Alejandra Saldías
Nancy Chappe
Mariana Coluccio
Melina Cools
Mariano Pastore
13th Edition of Itaú Award on Google Arts & Culture:
Curatorship: María Menegazzo Cané
Coordination: Celina Marco
Text assistance: Magdalena Mosquera
Production assistance: Cecilia Vecchi
Translation: Valentina Bonelli