Untitled II (2012) Collages by Marcelo Mendizabal

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, )

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 . 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 , 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

• Nationality: URUGUAY
• Date of birth : unknown date
• Artistic domains: Represented by a Gallery,
• Groups: Artists presented by a gallery