Lido Iacopetti
(Saint Nicholas, 1936)
Lido Iacopetti was born in 1936 in San Nicolás (Province of Buenos Aires). In 1958 he settled in La Plata – the fourth most populated Argentine city in the country – located 56 kilometers from Buenos Aires. There he studied painting at the Higher School of Fine Arts. He graduated as a Professor and Graduate in History of Plastic Arts from the National University of La Plata, where he attended the renewing classes of teachers Héctor Cartier, Martínez Solimán, Ángel O. Nessi.
In those years he collaborated with “Diagonal cero”, the experimental magazine created by Edgardo Antonio Vigo. He held individual exhibitions in various institutions in Buenos Aires, among which the legendary Lirolay gallery, epicenter of the Buenos Aires avant-garde of the first half of the 60s, or the Carmen Waugh gallery stand out. In the latter he committed a very significant action that he called “Walking Offerings” in which he gave away a series of drawings made on folded papers. This generous action would become a constant in his artistic practice.
After his excursion through the metropolis, he decided to take refuge in his workshop and work alone. This moment is characterized by expanding and democratizing the spaces through which his works circulated. During the 70s, instead of exhibiting in large museums or fashion galleries, he held exhibitions in non-traditional spaces such as Rotisería Carioca, Joyería y Relojería Núñez, Muebles Norte, Gong Sport, Óptica La Plata, Zapatería Carlos, Restaurant La Parrilla among other businesses in the city.
With a similar purpose, since 2003 he has been producing the Pro-Infantia calendars for which he makes one painting per quarter that he then reproduces in almanac format. These objects were marketed and the dividends were destined to the Foundation for the Promotion of Child Welfare in The Silver. He participated in exhibitions in Argentina and abroad. Since 2018, the Aldo de Sousa gallery has represented his work and this year “Imaginante popular” held its first retrospective exhibition that reviews all of his work.