Pablo Suárez...
7:20 p.m.
"With any work of art, what happens is if you’re open to seeing it you probably have a sensation, and that sensation leads to an experience and that experience is private and deals with your background, where you were born, what you’ve been exposed to, who you know, what your education was; and it will lead to other ways of thinking about other things"
Richard Serra
05/02/19 - This quote by Richard Serra perfectly fits the works that take part in the exhibition "Narciso Plebeyo" which is currently on display at the MALBA. It's an exhibition of the artworks and sculptures of Pablo Suárez (Argentina, 1937-2006), who established a direct communication between viewers and artwork by means of images of strong visual impact.
The sculptures on display, close to caricature, seek a close up to popular culture through humor, using his human figures with crazy eyes. This is a facial feature Suárez repeated constantly and it's the result of a tragic image he kept in his memory: that of his father hanging himself.
Exclusión, by Pablo Suárez (1999)
Materials: synthetic paint over poliester resin and epoxi, on MDF panel.
Materials: synthetic paint over poliester resin and epoxi, on MDF panel.
"Exclusión" was created for a painting contest (even though it has an added sculpture) and shows a man who could not pay the ticket and hangs from the door of the train in motion. The artwork is now part of MALBA's permanent collection.
La gripe, by Pablo Suárez (1989)
Materials: cardboard, fabric, papier maché, painting and thermometer
In most of the pieces there's a tribute to classic or iconic artists. The blanket that covers the feverish man above is a reference to Piet Mondrian's Broadway Boogie Woogie.
Los que comen del arte, by Pablo Suárez (1993)
Materials: foam, iron, epoxi putty and acrylic paint
¡Oh! Destino adverso,
Materials: epoxi resin and inclusions
El límite estúpido,
Materials: epoxi putty, poliester resin, wire, synthetic enamel, pigments, glass eyes and a feeder for chickens
In the 80s, parody and grotesque allow Suárez to reach an audience that was not close to his art, causing smiles or even laughter, not without a moralizing message, like the one in the artwork "Los que comen del arte".
Maceta o Planta y vereda, by Pablo Suárez (1976-78)
Technique: acrylic on canvas
El patio de la oficina, by Pablo Suárez (1980)
Technique: oil on canvas
Retrato de Gustavo Marrone, by Pablo Suárez (1980)
Technique: oil on canvas
Pablo Boxeador, by Pablo Suárez (1977)
Technique: oil on canvas
Suárez was an accomplished painter till he was absorbed by dimensionality and parody. The artwork "Narciso Plebeyo", which gives name to the exhibition, is a reference to Caravaggio's Narcissus. But instead he proposes an outcast of the 80s in Argentina, who faces a mirror, resulting in a grotesque yet humorous sculpture.
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