Jorge Macchi
Reacción, 2010. Blown glass. 210 x 102 x 60 cm
Jorge Macchi’ s work comes from life experiences, particular moments and memory trauma, sound and music. With an economic use of materials and lots o wit, he achieves simple things that seduce and surprise.
He knows how to balance the dose of each element for a work to be intriguing and attractive.
In several occasions, time and distance are used in his works as means to tell stories from different points of view, seducing its audience with small mistakes that should not be important. He makes them assume a very interesting position.
Macchi’ s work seduces, while showing that the simple things, often become stronger when properly translated.
Reaction is one of the last pieces he made related to frontiers and barriers. This minimalist piece, almost invisible for it is made of glass, could be interpreted as the fragility of power, since this same type of fences (usually made of metal) try to stop social pressure. Or, on the other hand, it could be interpreted as the invisible authority, always following us and forcing us make decisions that often contradict our own dreams.
In some ways, it’s a very present, yet transparent work. Its presence can be sensed before it’s seen. In the other hand, its materiality reminds us off the chemical reaction of laboratories, for it seems to have a visual reference to test tubes.
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Jorge Macchi (1963, Buenos Aires). Lives and works in Buenos Aires. Works with galleries such as Ruth Benzacar in Buenos Aires, Luisa Strina in San Pablo, Continua in San Gemignano and Peter Kilchmann in Zurich. Exhibitions in Blanton Museum in Austin, the Centro Gallego de Arte Contemporaneo in Santiago de Compostela, The University of Essex, Pinacoteca do Estado in São Paulo, the Contemporary Art Center Inhotim in Belo Horizonte, the Museum of Modern Art of Buenos Aires and The Museum of Contemporary Art in Ambers MUHKA. Participated in important artistic events such as the Havana Biennale (2000), Porto Alegre (2003 and 2007), Istanbul (2003), São Paulo (2004) and Venice (2005). Among the most important awards received: Premio Banco de la Nación Argentina (2000) and the Guggenheim Fellowship (2001). An important retrospective is being organized in the SMAK museum in Gent, Belgium for April 2011.