Darkness Visible: The Long Shadow of Dictatorship

As part of its 70 Anniversary celebrations, the Museo Moderno, in partnership with Spazio Punch, will present the collective exhibition Oscuridad visible: la larga sombra de la Dictadura [Darkness Visible: The Long Shadow of Dictatorship], a collateral event that will run concurrently with the 61st International Art Exhibition – Venice Biennale. The exhibition will commemorate the painful chapter in Argentina’s history following the coup d’état that ushered in the country’s last military dictatorship fifty years ago. The project will include works by major contemporary Argentinian artists who responded to this historic moment with alarm, condemnation, or criticism; artists who embodied the transition from dictatorship to democracy; and artists who continue to denounce the violence that prevails in contemporary societies, particularly physical and psychological violence against women, including femicide in the region. This powerful group of artists invites us to reflect on the civic role of art and its participation in democracy in times of political, social and environmental crisis. As a dialogue between Buenos Aires and Venice, the project is an example of institutional co-operation that reaffirms the importance of disseminating Argentinian art internationally, particularly through participation in this, the world’s longest-running art biennale. 

This exhibition is made possible thanks to the generous support of ADCAP GRUPO FINANCIERO and leading Argentinian art galleries. 

Artists: León Ferrari (Buenos Aires, 1920), Luis Pazos (La Plata, 1940–2023), Marcelo Brodsky (Buenos Aires, 1954), Luis Camnitzer (Lübeck, Alemania, 1937), Marta Minujín (Buenos Aires, 1943), Gianni Mestichelli (Ascoli Piceno, Italy, 1945), Eduardo Gil (Buenos Aires, 1948), Aldo Sessa (Buenos Aires, 1939), Guillermo Kuitca (Buenos Aires, 1961), Liliana Maresca (Avellaneda, 1951–1994), Sergio De Loof (Buenos Aires, 1962–2020), La Organización Negra (Buenos Aires, 1984), Archivo de la Memoria Trans (Buenos Aires, 2012), Ana Gallardo (Rosario, 1958), Nicanor Aráoz (Buenos Aires, 1981), Eduardo Basualdo (Buenos Aires, 1977) and Flavia Da Rin (Buenos Aires, 1978), among others. 

Curated by: Victoria Noorthoorn, Director of the Museo Moderno, based on an initiative by Augusto Maurandi, Founding Director of Spazio Punch, and with the collaboration of Patricio Orellana, Head of the Curatorial Department at the Museo Moderno