..Andrés Waissman

Visiones utópicas I. Mixed media on canvas. 148 x 122 cm. 2006	Los adelantados II. Acrylic on canvas. 148 x 122 cm. 2005	La clave II. Mixed media on canvas. 153 x 102 cm. 2005
Genealogías. Acrylic on canvas. 153 x 102 cm. 2005	El milagro. Acrylic on canvas. 122 x 61 cm. 2005	El milagro II. Acrylic on canvas. 122 x 61 cm. 2005

Rather than a disappearing universe, Waissman represents an emerging world, increasingly existent and unavoidable situations demanding reflection and a conscious look. His painting is neither indulgent nor evasive; on the contrary, it is urgent.
It is highly meaningful that the artist should have begun to work with crowds a few years before the concept of multitude became one of the most vital and productive in contemporary political theory. Opposite to the idea of mass, which describes undifferentiated beings characterized by their generality and anonymity, the concept of multitude refers to a human group that keeps the differences and particularities of the members that compose it. The multitude does not reject the individual; it articulates the ability to act in a particular way, encouraging joint activity in spite of personal differences. This concept has acquired fundamental importance within present political theory, because it allows for the possibility of political action and radical social transformations without needing a unified political being sharing just one ideology.
This perspective reinforces the arguments against indifference and anonymity in Waissman’s multitudes. Their permanent wish to move and change gives them an active role in their environment. It is also important to stress that in sight of the conflicts in the current world, Waissman offers a collective, communitarian response, regaining a political instance that is frequently elided in postmodern speeches. His evocation of history, memory, literature and poetry might be interpreted in the same way.

In “The cultural logic of late capitalism” Frederic Jameson expounds on the need for what he calls “cognitive maps”, elements that can offer guidance in the violently re-configured landscape of postindustrial cities. These maps are not just a tool to locate a particular geographical site but, fundamentally, a guide to subjectively find one’s place within the complexity of the current urban scene. It is a map of one’s own, made up with familiar sites, places of one’s memory, spaces marked by personal experience. A cartography that adjusts the dimension of the territories according to the individuals that reside in them; charts that transform “non-places” into places, formed by localities steeped in memories and recollections. In the cited works, as in most of the works in this series, it is the multitudes that brand the space with their presence; it is they that transform an occasionally anodyne landscape into a territory laden with significance.

Rodrigo Alonso

Curriculum

ANDRES WAISSMAN
Born in Buenos Aires on July 14, 1955

EDUCATION:

Between 1969 and 1982 he studies art in Buenos Aires with: Osvaldo Romberg, Edmund Valladares, Cecilia Marcovich, Joaquín A. Luque & María Luisa Manassero. In Barcelona he works with Augusto Torres and in París with Antonio Seguí.

TRIPS:

1974
Europe: he studies and works in Madrid, Barcelona & London.
1978
Europe: he studies and works in Spain and France.
1984
U.S.A.: he settles in San Francisco, California until 1991.
1992
Argentina: he reopens his art studio in Bs As. where he works and teaches.

MAIN INDIVIDUAL SHOWS:

1973
Lirolay Gallery, series "Los Mutilados", Bs. As., mixed media
1976
Van Dyke Gallery, "Nocturnos", Rosario, drawings
La Ciudad Gallery, Bs. As., "Nocturnos" w/ poems by C. Iturburu
1977
Lirolay Gallery, Bs. As., series "Quo vadis?", oils
1984
Soudan Gallery, Bs. As., series "Puzzles", mixed media
1986
C.A.Y.C., Bs. As., series "Sala de Juegos", oils
1988
Anca Colbert Gallery, Los Angeles, California, Santa Cruz State University
1989
Kerns Art Center, Eugene, Oregon, oils
1990
Imago Gallery, San Francisco, CA, series "Terra Cotta Kingdom", oils
1993
Galería Márgenes, Bs. As., series "Donde no están los monjes", oils
1996
National Endowment for the Arts, Bs. As., "Paisajes Virtuales", oils
Clásica y Moderna Gallery, Bs. As., mixed media
1997
Sara García Uriburu Gallery, Bs. As., "La Sombra Colectiva", oils
University of the Northeast, Cultural Center, Resistencia, Chaco, oils
1998
Alliance Francaise, Rosario, Sta. Fe., paintings
1999
Centro Cultural Borges, Bs. As., paintings, "From the South"
Sara García Uriburu Art Gallery, Bs. As., paintings
International Fine Arts Gallery, New Orleans, USA
2000
Rosemblum Foundation, Buenos Aires, paintings
2001
Galería de la Recoleta, Buenos Aires, "The Ilusion of Real", paintings
EcoCentro, Puerto Madryn, "The Ilusion of Real", paintings
2002
ArteBA, Bs. As., "The End of the Empire", recent works
Sara García Uriburu Art Gallery, Bs. As. "The End of the Empire"
Centro Cultural Recoleta,"The little Beds", Bs.As.
Salón Nacional de Artes Visuales 2002, Palais de Glace, Bs. As.
2003
Centro Cultural Recoleta, "Fragmentaria", Bs. As.
2004
AMIA, "The Origins", Bs. As.
ArteBA 2004, "Transeúntes", GC Estudio de Arte, Bs. As.
2005
Beagle Channel Hotel, Golf & Art, Ushuaia
Sara García Uriburu Galería de Arte, "Cartografías Colectivas", Bs. As.
2006
Pan American Art Gallery, Dallas, Texas
ArteBA 2006, Sara García Uriburu Galería de Arte, Bs. As.

MAIN GROUP SHOWS:

1973
IX Salón Nacional de Dibujo y Grabado, Museum Eduardo Sívori, Bs. As.
1976
Salón Municipal Manuel Belgrano, Bs. As.
1977
Modern Art Museum of Buenos Aires, Bs. As.
1985
The Mexican Museum, San Francisco, CA, "Latin American Art"
1986
San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery, San Francisco, "Chain Reaction"
1987
University of California, Los Angeles, Argentine Artists Exhibition
San Francisco Arts Institute, "A Sideways Glance"
1988
Richmond Art Center, Richmond, CA, "Personal Visions"
University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, "Viva Latin America"
1990
Modern Art Museum of Buenos Aires, Bs. As.
1991
Galleria Civica d'arte Contemporanea, Mostra Nazionale di Pittura, Marsala Italy
1992
Monterrey Peninsula Museum of Art, Monterrey, California
1994
Klemm-CAYC Prize, Centro Cultural Recoleta, Pintura, Bs. As.
International Arts Critics Week, "Installations", CC Recoleta
1996
Recoleta Cultural Center, Bs. As., "Twenty Years Later"
1997
Museum Jan var der Togt, Amsterdam y Nijkerk, Salentein Kunst Holland
Kumho Museum of Art, Seoul, Corea, "Argentine Artists"
National Museum of Fine Arts, Bs. As., Premio Novartis
1998
National Library Gallery, Bs. As. "Artists Books"
1999
Recoleta Cultural Center, "100 Years of Argentine Painting"
2000
Vorpal Gallery, Latinamerican Artists Show, San Francisco, CA
Museum E. Sivori, Bs. As., Argentina
2001
Arte Sacro, Tandil Museum of Art. Bs As.
2002
Salón Nacional de Pintura Fundación Banco Nación, Bs. As.
Alternating Currents,University of Essex, UECLAA, UK
Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Certamen Iberoamericano de Pintura
Pinacoteca Barao de Santos, "Em Foco", Bienal de Porto Alegre, Brasil
2004
Salón Nacional de Pintura, Palais de Glace, Bs. As.
Holland Art Fair, Holanda
Football at the Palais, Palais de Glace, Bs. As.
Galería Artana, La Haya, Holanda
2005
Bienal de Pintura Paloma Alonso, Contemporary Latinamerican Art Museum, Palais de Glace, Bs. As. and touring show through Art Museum of Tandil, Art Museum of Olavaria and Contemporary Art Museum of Bahia Blanca, Bs. As.
Manuel Belgrano National Art Award, Sivori Museum, Bs.As.
Art Chicago and Chicago Contemporary and Classic Art Fair, Panamerican Art Gallery, USA
Fundación Nuevo Mundo y MALBA, Subasta Solidaria EMA, Bs. As.
2006
Premio Argentino de Artes Visuales OSDE, Espacio de Arte Imago, Bs. As.
Salón Nacional de Pintura Fundación Banco Nación, Buenos Aires
Art Americas, Miami, FLA
Espacio Contemporáneo de Arte, Premio Fundación Deloitte, Ciudades de Mendoza y Bs. As.

SELECTED COLLECTIONS:

Judah Magnes Museum, Berkeley, CA
Galleria Civica d´arte Contemp. F. Pizzo, Palazzo Spano Burgio, Marsala,
Jack S. Blanton Museum of Art, University of Texas at Austin
Madres de Plaza de Mayo Collection
Atomic Energy Center, Bs. As.
Contemporary Art Museum, Bs. As.
Colección Pond, Museo Salentein, Mendoza
Korean Embassy, Bs. As.
Di Tella University, Bs. As.