An exhibition of work by Argentine artist, Raul Conti, Selected Oil Paintings and Sculptures from 1960 to 2018, opens with a reception at Quebracho in Bushwick, Brooklyn on Friday, October 19, 2018 from 6 – 10 pm.
The exhibition is on view October 19 – 28, 2018, Monday – Friday, 12 noon – 6 pm.
Raul Conti
Raul Conti in his Buenos Aires studio in 2014. Courtesy of the artist / Quebracho.
Raul Conti was born in Morteros, Córdoba, Argentina in 1931. He trained in the Casa Taller workshop of Argentine artist and teacher Juan Grela.
Grela blended popular culture into regional influences. That makes sense because most Argentines are Italians who found themselves living in another world.
Conti follows the tradition of his teacher. You can see the influence of Grela’s simply drawn figures. But in a very Argentine way, Conti combines pre-Colombian imagery with a recurring, sculptural character whose female aspect recalls the legendary Argentine cartoon character Mafalda, created by Joaquín Salvador Lavado (Quino).
Other recurring Argentine influences include the checkerboard tiles common on old floors in Buenos Aires, and the blue and white of Argentina’s national soccer team jersey.
58 years is a long art career. There is a well-developed, childlike innocence to Conti’s painting that feels almost like Outsider Art. Conti’s style lies somewhere between Mafalda and the great Mexican surrealist Rufino Tamayo.
Raul Conti, Selected Oil Paintings and Sculptures from 1960 to 2018
Raul Conti at Quebracho 2018
Conti has created a large body of work. He has been actively painting and sculpting for almost 60 years. The exhibition is a retrospective of the artist’s work.
The exhibition offers a great opportunity to acquire some late-career work by a Latin artist with strong roots in the culture that surrounds him.
Visit Raul Conti, Selected Oil Paintings and Sculptures
Quebracho
421 Troutman St, Brooklyn, NY, 11237
(between Wycoff Ave and St Nicholas Ave)
Bushwick, Brooklyn
Subway
(L) to Jefferson St. Walk half a block northeast on Troutman