marco maggi

The presence of paper and an intimate character are two constants in the work of Marco Maggi (b. 1957, Montevideo, Uruguay), even in his large installations. Ever since he established his career, in the 1990s, Maggi has wittily and delicately encouraged his audience to slow down their pace, and watch, pay attention, and delve deeper into his works, the life that surrounds them, and the society in which they live.

In a series entitled The Ted Turner Collection – from CNN to the DNA, Maggi shows his acute critical sense by using reproductions of pieces by artists like Gerhard Richter, Andy Warhol, and Hélio Oiticica to comment on the mediatized condition of contemporary life. Heaps of white paper cover reproductions, slashed with precision to create reliefs and gaps that reveal traces of tones from the reproductions hidden underneath, forming a big white landscape spiked with small slits of color. The installations maintain the use of paper, but from a distance, the numerous heaps do not show their nature; one must come closer, become somewhat acquainted with the works and dedicate some time to find out what they reveal.

Marco Maggi lives and works between New York, USA, and Montevideo, Uruguay. Recent solo shows include: O papel é inocente, at Museu Brasileiro de Escultura e Ecologia (MuBE) (2018), in São Paulo, Brazil; Putin's Pencils, at Sicardi Gallery (2017), in Houston, USA; Piano Piano, at Espacio Monitor (2016), in Caracas, Venezuela; Drawing Attention, at Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art (2015), in Kansas, USA. He also featured in the 25^th Bienal de São Paulo, Brazil (2002); the 8^th Havana Biennial, in Cuba (2003); the 29^th Pontevedra Biennial, in Spain (2006). Recent group shows include: Art_Latin_America: Against the Survey, at Davis Museum at Wellesley College (2019), in Wellesley, USA; Latinoamérica: volver al futuro, at Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Buenos Aires (MACBA) (2018), in Buenos Aires, Argentina; Tension and Dynamism, at Atchugarry Art Center (2018), in Miami, USA; Paper into Sculpture, at Nasher Sculpture Center (2017), in Dallas, USA. His works are included in important collections, such as: Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, USA; Daros Foundation, Zürich, Switzerland; Cisneros-Fontanals Foundation (CIFO), Miami, USA; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, USA; Drawing Center, New York, USA;  and Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York, USA; among others.