Opening: Friday July 14th 7pm
This museum house devoted to the artistic legacy of sculptor Juan Carlos Iramain showcases his extensive body of work in the various periods and styles that he explored. Building upon this significant collection, the exhibition Sculpture and Ruin forges an aesthetic and symbolic connection between a series of sculptures dedicated to the miners of the Puna de Iramain and a set of works by young artist Rodrigo Díaz Ahl, in which he merges the ordinary faces of workers with urban rubble. These works embody a critical view of individuals working under precarious conditions in the contemporary labour system in the form of an anonymous ruin shaped by the elements and the passage of time. The final result is a group of heads that harks back to the beginning of the 20th century, when Iramain portrayed the miners of Zapaleri, the mineshafts of the Argentinean Puna, and the men of the native peoples. The introduction of these subjects into his art also changed his style, moving away from the smoothness of the forms defined by the expressiveness of the material: rugosities and incisions that stem from the visual impact elicited by his relationship with these peoples.
In contrast to the traditional use of sculpture as a monument to historical figures - heroes, kings, emperors, presidents - this exhibition aims to shed light on the often overlooked and forgotten subjects. These nameless individuals, albeit indispensable in the productive history of power, are presented in the form of ruins that encapsulate the power of memory without being a monument, and the expressive intensity of sculpture without being a portrait.
Clarisa Appendino
Photo: Rodrigo Díaz Ahl, De saqueos y derivas, 2022
