IGNACIO ITURRIA

"The Loneliness of the Game" - Ignacio Iturria

The Telefónica Foundation presents a solo exhibition by the Uruguayan painter Ignacio Iturria. The show, called The Loneliness of the Game, consists of more than 60 works. This is Iturria's first exhibition in Madrid. The artist is linked to Spain through family ties and is one of the most cherished and internationally important Latin-American artists.

The show, curated by the professor and art critic José Jiménez, is co-produced by the Telefónica Foundation and the Consortium of Museums of the Valencian Government.

In its formal aspect, Iturria's work is characterized by his use of a wide variety of materials and elements. Creator of a most unusual world, Iturria observes with humor and irony the characters, objects and situations of modern man.

From March 25 to May 30, 1999 in the Temporary Exhibition Halls of the Telefónica Foundation.

Renewing Painting

Heir to the multiple tendencies which mark out the trajectory of contemporary art, the use that the artist makes of wood, brass, and cardboard, besides connecting his work with the aesthetic criteria of expressionism, contributes to adding a domestic and almost childish aspect to the work.

Iturria's work displays an incredibly varied catalog of references taken from the deep pool of his memories and from the need to translate to his particular language the problematic and hope which drives and presides over the vital Latin-American trajectory.

The exhibition follows one concept - The Loneliness of the Game - and the curator José Jiménez attempts to capture the central aspects and the recurring concerns which characterize Ignacio Iturria's work: Memories, games and loneliness. The final result is a vision of the world and of ourselves that is different and more profound.

Biographical Notes

Born in Montevideo in 1949, son of a Basque immigrant, takes commercial design classes and starts painting. Receives many awards in his country. In 1977 he marries and moves to Spain. In 1979 he returns to Uruguay and presents several exhibitions, returning to Spain in 1982. He sets up in Barcelona which allows him to maintain close ties with Catalan Painters such as Tharrats, Cuixart y Pitxot. He travels through Spain extensively, especially Andalucía and Castilla, in search of Benjamin Palencia's landscapes.

In 1984 he returns to Uruguay and shows in Punta del Este, later in Buenos Aires as well as in many other Latin-American cities over the next few years. In 1988 he is one of the 15 artists selected by the Fund for Artists Colonies in New York to participate in a colony of artists. One year later he spends 3 months in the US living with artist from different countries.

He also participates in the exhibition 100 Years of Uruguayan Painting, and after showing his work in several Latin-American countries he wins in 1994 the Grand Prize of the IV International Biennal of Painting of Cuenca, Ecuador. In 1997 he participates in the VI Biennal of Havana, representing Uruguay. Among his latest shows are those from 1998 in the National Museum of Buenos Aires and in the Rufino Tamayo Museum in Mexico City.

Catalog

Ignacio Iturria

Texts by: José Jiménez, Angel Kalenberg, Remo Guideri, Hugo Achugar, Igancio Iturria.

Spanish and English

233 Pages

ISBN: 84-482-2046-3

Price:4.000 pesetas

Available