Biography

 

1956 - Born in Montevideo, Uruguay

1983–1984 – Courses in Humanities University, UDELAR (Montevideo, Uruguay)

1985 –Enrolls in the national Fine Arts University (ENBA) (Montevideo, Uruguay)

1987 –Cinematography courses in ‘Cinemateca Uruguaya’ (Montevideo, Uruguay)

1988 –Studies with ENBA profesor Ernesto Arostegui (Montevideo, Uruguay)

1990 – Degree in Fine Arts (ENBA, Montevideo, Uruguay) / Travels around Europe and assists Venice Biennale

1997 - Workshops with German and Polish artists of Batuz Foundation (Freistaat Sachsen, Germany)

 

Artist Statement

 

“First it was the cord, the thread, the rope, which I used to sew small papers with a needle, thus creating wefts that interacted with the signs applied directly on the support. Those wefts began to grow and occupy more space, making up a texture and a warp that I found deeply expressive. One day, I discovered that the back side of the sewn paper had stitches and knots, so I began to explore the reverse side of the weft, the other side of the coin. The idea of a flat translation for that weft became then a recurrent thinking. I began to incorporate digital technology, and confronted the digital format with the real one, looking for a contrast. The thread loses its volume and flattens, I print the weft of threads on larger canvases using screen printing, and then I work the printout with acrylic paint, using color to demarcate the spaces that are formed in the crossings. From there on I began to apply the threads directly on larger canvases, while the surfaces became more texturized after incorporating the threads directly into the paint. Later I explore the trace, the mark left on the surface by the object-- the thread is removed from the support, leaving an uneven hollow demarcating different spaces and volumes. Some of the works highlight my persistent obsession for the opposites-- outside/inside, plane/volume, front/reverse, reality/virtuality. They circulate one within the other mutually affecting each other, thus synthesizing different techniques, procedures and times. The tangled threads hide the tips that, with great effort, will make it possible to disentangle the hank. I evoke the patience of the child who undo doggedly the tight knot in his kite string. Memory and oblivion, presence and absence inevitably evoke other threads that interweave and intertwine other absences, other yearnings, other silences.”

- Marcelo Mendizabal

 

Exhibitions

 

Solo shows

 

2012 – “Disentanglements” Centro Cultural Dodeca (Montevideo, Uruguay)

2007 – “Corsi e ricorsi “ Instituto Goethe (Montevideo, Uruguay)

2005 – “Fictions and Plots” Centro Cultural Dodecá (Montevideo, Uruguay)

2004 – “Entanglements” Del Paseo Sala de Arte (Montevideo, Uruguay)

2002 – “The reverse of the weft”Cabildo de Montevideo (Montevideo, Uruguay)

1999 – “Afuera, Adentro, Fuera” Babilonia Casa de Arte (Montevideo, Uruguay)

1990 – “Mandalas, Menhires y Anatemas” Galería del Notariado (Montevideo, Uruguay)

 

Group shows

 

 

2017 –Selected for “48 Premio Montevideo de Artes Visuales” Subte, Montevideo

2016 – “Taken Blanes”, Museo J.M.Blanes

2013 – “Extensions”, Subte Municipal. Montevideo

2012 – 55th Visual Arts National Museum

2011 –Selectedfor “Premio de Pintura Bicentenario”, Museo Nacional de Artes Visuales. Montevideo – Dodecácollection. Centro Cultural Dodecá Montevideo. El Monitor Plástico. Subte Municipal. Montevideo

2010 – 9th Salto’s bienal, Uruguay

2008 –Yhoobuilding. Punta del Este. Quaybuilding Punta del Este. “Post–babilónicos”, Museo Nacional de Artes Visuales. Montevideo

2006 – “Papel a la vista”, Unión Latina, Montevideo

2004 – “Mendizábal y Mendizábal”, Union Latina, Montevideo

2003 – Visual Arts Nationall Museum

2001 –Trench Gallery, La Barra,Maldonado. “4” Molino de Pérez, Painters and sculptors association Asociación of Uruguay

2000 – “Babilonia Social Club”, Babilonia Casa de Arte, Montevideo. “Máscaras menos caras”, Sala del Paseo, Montevideo. 8th Salto’s spring bienal Salto. Salón de Pintura Something Special, Molino de Pérez, Montevideo

1999 – Salón del Banco Hipotecario del Uruguay. Universidad de la República, 150 yearsanniversary

1998 – Museo Torres García, “SocietéImaginaire” Batuz Foundation. Ministerio de Educación y Cultura, kiteexhibition

1996 – “Four signs”, Engelmann–Ost collection. “Hands in the art”, Reumatologic institute

1995 – AwardUnitedAirlines, Museo de Arte Americano, Maldonado

1994 – “The artists and the kids of Uruguay”, UNICEF. Galería Latina, Montevideo. “Sanjo, Masi, Conde, Mendizábal”, Galería del Notariado, Montevideo. Scenography for the play “Sensere” by Graciela Figueroa, Teatro El Galpón, Montevideo

1989, 1991, 1992, 1993 –Salón Paul Cézanne – French embassy

 

Awards

 

1995 –AwardUnitedAirlines, Museo de Arte Americano, Maldonado

2009 – Special mention at Ballantines: Live an expression

2002 – Visual Art National Museum, hononary mention

1998 - Republic Bank Award

1997 - Batuz Fundation Award

1996 - VI Salto’s Biennal Award

1989 – Watercolor Award of the Republic Bank

 

 

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