“This project intends to explore the relationships between mental health and art. Specifically, I am interested in raising some questions about the links between the two practices focusing on the following guiding topics: knowledge and experiences, communities and institutions, individuals and groups, and forms and positions.
Throughout the last century and up to today, mental health practices and art have come together in several institutional and self-managed experiences. In these social settings, groups, knowledge, techniques and exchanges are placed at the centre of an activity in which the boundaries separating both fields become blurred. I would like to focus precisely on their meeting point, on the moment when their rigid perspectives soften.
My work begins with the following questions: What aspects of the creative process are linked to wellness therapies? What does art, in its social dynamics, have to say and do in the face of different kinds of ailments? What role does desire play in therapeutic practices, in the dynamics of teaching and of creation? What is it about this moment of uncertainty and unrest that we are experiencing socially – individually and collectively – that is bringing us back to these practices? What place do vulnerability, unrest and suffering have in the construction of an artistic imaginary and practice?
The working methodology takes into account different lines of action, including: a search for institutional and self-managed experiences; conversations with users, teachers, academics, artists and managers; a bibliographic search of the archives of the Museo Moderno and other institutions; and visits to related spaces. These tasks and the entirety of this exploration will be recorded in the form of a written diary. The diary will serve as a repository for the materialisation and future exhibition of the full research and exploration experience undertaken during the residency.
In parallel, I will explore the relationships between my own creative processes and those of Alberto Heredia, as well as other artists in the museum’s collection that I encounter during my research. I want to practise writing and drawing on a daily basis as two mirrored actions; a moment where lived experience and reflection intertwine in a two-sided task. In this project, both ways of creating will merge and build in new directions.”
Born in Buenos Aires province in 1985, Rubi is a professor of visual arts. He taught a clinic on art with Verónica Gómez and Leila Tschopp. He also participated in the Abele clinic, with Carla Barbero and Javier Villa, as well as in Claudio Iglesias’ art writing workshop. Solo shows include Vivir! [Live!], curated by Emmanuel Franco at Galería Antocha (2024); Música [Music], with text by Ezequiel Alemian, at LAR (Local de Artes Recientes) (2022); and Los días [The Days], at the Museo del Banco Provincia (2016). Rubi has taught in mental health facilities, educational institutions and at his own studio. He received an honourable mention for the Argentine Visual Arts Award from the Fundación OSDE (2023) and was selected for the Fondo Nacional de las Artes (FNA) prize (2022). He was awarded the Creation Grant from the FNA on two occasions (2021, 2022), as well as the Managing the Future grant of the national Ministry of Culture (2023). His works have been shown in several group exhibitions, such as: Sé del miedo cuando digo mi nombre [I Know the Fear When I Say My Name], at LINSE (2024); Qué era esto antes [What Was This Before], at LAR (2023); Premio Argentino a las Artes Visuales [Argentine Visual Arts Award], at OSDE (2023); Premio de Artes Visuales [Visual Arts Award], FNA (2022); Cómo construir un cerco [How to Build a Fence], at Pasaje 17 (2018), and Sala de ensayo [Rehearsal Room], at Fundación Esteban Lisa (2017). He manages an artist-in-residence programme in General Pico, La Pampa, where he lives and works.