PRESENTATION
PROA21 | Annual Program for Artistic Creation
Mariano Ullua: Vision of vision. Approaching the Surface of the Sensible
July – September, 2026
Organized by: PROA21
Sponsored by: Tenaris – Ternium
As part of its annual creation program, PROA21 welcomes visual artist Mariano Ullua, who arrives at the space to develop an investigation centered on drawing in space: that intermediate territory where the three-dimensional line of soft iron and the air meet in real time in front of others, constructing a form in space to be experienced through the body and vision.
The residency takes as its starting point a series of prior experiences developed throughout the artist's career, including La delgada línea gorda (The Thin Fat Line) and Visión imposible (Impossible Vision)—projects in which drawing detached itself from paper to explore the movement of the body through space and the recognition of the proposed forms.
The focus of the research is placed on the event of vision and the spectator's journey. The proposal insists on that moment of trial and sensory experimentation where black iron, when manipulated, offers a trembling and hesitant vibration that functions as a metonymy for seeing and understanding.
Play, spontaneity, and material precariousness were historically creative tools with a transformative and revolutionary potential before being sidelined. Today, reclaiming this playful and shared dimension—within a context of precariousness where amateur meeting spaces seem to be shrinking—presents itself to both the artist and the institution as a way to place joy at the center of artistic practice.
The materials accompanying the research are linked especially to simple and affordable resources, such as black wire and soft iron. These structures are shot through with a utopia of extreme simplicity that cuts through the air, requiring the physical presence of the community to be completed.
Over the course of two months, the artist works on the production of pieces, exploring large-scale work for the first time under the fundamental guidance of figuration. There is no need to interpret, but rather to experience: faced with the clarity of form in space, the spectator can concentrate on experiencing and truly seeing what happens to the material within this formal construction.
Throughout August, public activities are organized to bring the artist's processes closer to the community, fostering direct interaction and opening new opportunities for learning and artistic appreciation. The schedule of activities is soon available on the PROA21 website.
Credits
Organized by
PROA21
Artistic direction
Lucie Haguenauer
General coordination
Renzo Longobucco
Pilar Victorio
Sponsored by
Tenaris – Ternium