In my paintings I explore how young people bond socially and emotionally. Through a frivolous atmosphere, I evoke the brightness, contrast and saturation of the screens. I create scenarios where the ephemeral coexists with stopped time.
The protagonists of these scenes recreate their identity in #selfies as exchange glossy communications that fade into the network. They pose for maintain the desire and the illusion of being observed. They are a mirror of a generation that worships the simulacrum.
Reality appears as resistance to a digitalized present where the filters of Instagram masks loneliness. Faced with the infinite multiplication of images, the anguish intensifies. Props with a cheesy-kitsch aesthetic reproduce an instant.
I paint in high resolution a made-up intimacy that exposes the fissure of reality. The moment before the imminent break. What pretends to be alive and is plastic.
Belén López de Carlo (Buenos Aires, 1991)
She lives and works in Buenos Aires
Education
Graduate in Visual Arts (University of the Argentine Social Museum, Buenos Aires)
Scenographic Design and Production (Higher Institute of Art of the Teatro Colón, Buenos Aires)
Artist residencies and clinics
2023 – Verónica Gómez Artists Program, Blasón, Buenos Aires, Argentina
2020 – PAC Project, Gachi Prieto Gallery, Buenos Aires, Argentina
2019 – Cazadores Clinic Artist Program, Cazadores Foundation, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Individual expositions
2024 – Una promesa incumplida, text by Nahuel Vecino, Praxis, Buenos Aires, Argentina
2016 – Bajo el umbral de la consciencia del artista, University of the Argentine Social Museum, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Group exhibitions
2024 – Misshapes, Praxis, New York, United States
2023 – Atravesar el espejo, Praxis, Buenos Aires, Argentina
2022 – Lo que importa es la piel, Praxis, Buenos Aires, Argentina
2021 – ZoomOut, Gachi Prieto Gallery, Buenos Aires, Argentina
2019 – La imagen fantasma, Cazadores Foundation, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Awards and distinctions
2023 – Bancor Painting Prize Selection, Banco de Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina
2023 – Special Mention MACSUR Award for Visual Arts, Museum of Contemporary Art of the South, Buenos Aires, Argentina
2022 – Manuel Belgrano Plastic Arts Hall Selection, Sívori Museum, Buenos Aires, Argentina
2021 – First BADA Young Award, City Government, Buenos Aires, Argentina
2021 – Itaú Prize for Visual Arts Selection, Itaú Foundation, Buenos Aires, Argentina
2019 – National Hall of Visual Arts Selection, Museum of Contemporary Argentine Art, Junín, Argentina
2015 – Young Hall Selection, Sívori Museum, Buenos Aires, Argentina