Art in Argentina

Historiography of Argentine art coincides in naming to the 1920s as the period when the modernization of the Argentine pictorial language took place. Several events support this view: Emilio Pettoruti, the Paris Group and Alfredo Guttero returned from Paris. Xul Solar, the Artists of the People, the Boca Group and other individualities were active in this period. From different formal and ideological angles (the artists returning to the country knew the language of European avant-garde), the dominant taste and its arbiters, the official agencies, were contested. Friends of Art, an organization which sheltered new trends, was created. Alfredo Guttero was the binding figure for young artists and the New Salon was organized. By that time, magazines like Prisma, Martín Fierro, Inicial, Plus Ultra, Claridad and Campana de Palo reflected the effervescence in the cultural field. In this period, there was a tense sharing of the same space of works by Fader and Colivadino, which carried the traditional language, and works by young artists where the presence of modern fine arts (with greater or lesser success) can be traced. From then on, it is impossible to make up a list of artists and groups enriching Argentine painting without making an unfair omission; every trend and every search were present.

We will mention some landmarks which marked significant moments for contemporary art: In 1944, the Arturo magazine, a manifesto for concrete art, is published. In 1951, the Bonino Gallery, whose performance went beyond the frontiers of the country, is created. In 1948, the Ver y Estimar magazine is published by critic Jorge Romero Brest, who in 1956 was appointed Curator of the National Museum and later, in 1963, Director of the Visual Arts Center of the Di Tella Institute, becoming, through his multiple activities, the impeller of contemporary arts.