The set of drawings by Alberto Heredia (Buenos Aires, 1924-2000) collected here is part of the legacy the Argentine artist generously left to the Museo de Arte Moderno de Buenos Aires. The donation consisted of his home and studio located at 828 Avenida Caseros in San Telmo in addition to 568 of his artworks, his library, collection and archive.
Influenced by post-war movements that sought to expand the horizons of art, including Informalism, Alberto Heredia created a unique sculptural vision as part of the effervescent, ground-breaking cultural scene of 1960s Buenos Aires. During that period, Heredia started to include discarded objects and other non-traditional items in his work. Through the passionate alteration of these materials, he produced insightful commentary on politics, religion, sexuality and violence. Under the repressive regimes of the seventies, these pieces assumed new relevance and power. His political activism drew the ire of paramilitary forces and saw him threatened and detained. Although he continued experimenting with form and matter, pain, censorship and torture took on central importance in his output, especially his bodies assembled from assorted fragments.
Throughout this period, Alberto Heredia also made numerous series of drawings and collages. In contrast with the drama seen in many of his most iconic pieces, these artworks on paper reveal a more intimate and liberated side of the artist, in which he is governed more by spontaneous creativity than the goal of creating preparatory sketches for his sculptures. Although individual and collective suffering is palpable in all of Heredia’s oeuvre, in these drawings we observe a boisterous energy contained in expressive strokes that seek to unravel the human condition.
Alberto Heredia (Buenos Aires, 1924-2000) is one of Argentina’s most important sculptors. His training began with a brief passage through the Manuel Belgrano Escuela de Bellas Artes, after which he continued to develop his skills on his own. He participated in the Asociación Arte Concreto Invención [Concrete-Invention Art Association] and formed friendships with artists Ennio Iommi and Claudio Girola. In 1960, he travelled to Europe through a grant from the Government of the Netherlands, returning to Argentina in 1963. His most important exhibitions include: Cajas de Camembert [Camembert Cartons] (Galería Lirolay, Buenos Aires, 1963) and Los monstruos [The Monsters] (Galería de Arte Nuevo, Buenos Aires, 1966). He participated in several group shows in Rio de Janeiro, Paris, New York, Tokyo, Madrid and Rome. The first retrospective of his work was held in 1984 at the Fundación San Telmo (Buenos Aires) and the Museo de Arte Moderno de Buenos Aires was the site of his final and largest retrospective in 1998, curated by Laura Buccellato.
