With the drive to celebrate after a year and a half of the pandemic, on December 18, Fundación Proa opened “Art at play. A playful approach to Argentine art”, curated by Rodrigo Alonso.
This exhibition appeals to the most basic behavior of childhood, playing. A large installation by artist Daniel Joglar welcomes the viewer. The artist presents three ‘moments’ in his work: a collage as wallpaper, an installation of three-dimensional toys against the wall, and a showcase of collectible games. Hidden within the large mural, three-dimensional objects, toys, and photographs of children playing are discovered as small surprises.
The second room invites us to go through approaches of a hundred artists. Without chronological criteria, sectors with the most historical and other more modern works stand out. We can find works by artists such as Antonio Berni, Luis Fernando Benedit, León Ferrari, Xul Solar, Liliana Porter, Matilde Marín, Edgardo Giménez, Dalila Puzzovio, Jorge Macchi, among others.
In this room, all eyes are on a piece by the contemporary art collective Oligatea, the “Ghost Train”, an installation re-created especially for the exhibition where we see a train go through different situations such as scale models of buildings. The train has the peculiarity of containing a camera, with which it takes the scenes in real-time of its journey. We see these images reflected on a screen. We see in an enlarged way the miniatures that we see on the track as well as the spectators themselves, who are gathered on the table of the train, are captured by the camera. The path that the train travels also have imperceptible references and tributes to contemporary artists in the mini posters that appear along the way.
A room dedicated to sport as a game features great artists such as Fabiana Barreda, Marcos López, Nicola Costantino, Margarita Paska, among others.
The video installation The Tennis Match (1997), by Margarita Paksa, is an outstanding example of an experimental artist, academic and pioneer in the intersection of art and technology in our country
Rayuelarte (2009) by Marta Minujín, a playful and participatory piece that has traveled the world involving spectators from here and there in homage to Julio Cortázar, is one of the axes of this section.
The work of Nicolas Guagnini N©G presents a modified pool table emulating a piece from the constructivist avant-garde of the 40s by Raúl Lozza. This work coexists with a protagonist of that avant-garde that provides a playful, colorful piece with multiple possibilities.
The third room, located on the upper floor, is dedicated to interactive gaming. A Bambi Bot is powered by a xylophone. As the viewer makes music with this xylophone and hits the keys, this wooden Bambi walks across a synthetic grass.
Leo Núñez presents “I remember”, an installation that consists of a typewriter available to be manipulated and a line of lights that reproduce what the public writes. The name alludes to the first words of the story “Funes el memorioso” by Jorge Luis Borges. The machine has the peculiarity of “remembering” the actions of the spectators from the previous day. The texts that come out of it mix those remembered and those present, those of the previous day, and those of today.
The installation “Mirtha is you” by Lolo and Lauti introduces the public to a television studio thanks to the incorporation of the green screen or chroma key so widely used in film and TV studios. The viewer who sits at the traditional Sunday table is captured by a camera that places him in the place of Mirtha Legrand. Inevitable to be attracted, to participate, and to play.
Painting, sculpture, installation, photography, video, objects, interactive art.
A great sample to share with the little ones, explore and have fun through art.
The exhibition is complemented by a program of activities for the most diverse audiences that will take place throughout the summer.
* Art in game. A playful approach to Argentine art, curated by Rodrigo Alonso. December 18, 2021 – March 2022. Fundación PROA
