The artistic activity has had a sustained growth, in the last years, in Uruguayan beaches. Punta del Este and the nearby towns have become, in a short time, an increasingly attractive center for artists, gallery owners, visitors and cultural managers.
One of the latest additions to this circuit of galleries, fairs and museums, is Walden Naturein the town of Garzon. The alma mater of the project is Ricardo Ocampowhich consolidated W-Galeria (formerly Waldengallery) in Buenos Aires. Since last year, in this space, works of Marcia Schvartz, Nicolás Guagnini, Cristina Schiavi, Candela Bado, Gonzalo Delgado and José Luis Landet. In this season, the first sample was of Ana Lopezcurated by Santiago Villanueva.
Next, the Uruguayan Carmelo Arden Quin (who had a retrospective this year in Fine Arts) inaugurated “Mystery Fragments”, a series of aerosol works carried out in the mid-’70s in Paris and Nice, which can be seen until February 9.
To complete the season, another artist with great prominence in 2022 due to his exhibition at the Modern Museum, Eduardo Basualdo, will arrive with a work that emerges from the work that was seen in Buenos Aires, “Pupila”.
Space
Since Francis Mallman chose the small town of Garzón, a few kilometers from José Ignacio, as the new setting for his restaurant, winery and hotel project, others followed suit. They left the seashore to explore the rural placidity of the Maldonado district.
Ricardo OcampoA native of Paysandú, he fell in love with Garzón when he visited him a decade ago, because the rhythm of the town reminded him of his hometown. So, he took advantage of the stopped time of the pandemic to shape his idea.”We wanted the area to have a cultural program that was not typical of Punta del Este or José Ignacio,” he explained to NEWS. The town has a lot to offer and is a great walk. Coming to enjoy Garzón is a unique experience”.
The objective, from the beginning, was to expand the artistic circuit of the East, beyond the known territory and, on the other hand, to create an exhibition space that will dialogue with the local and international art scene.
The gallery is open year-round, with longer shows in the winter. “Since October we have constant visits on weekends, and during the week, also scheduled appointments,” explains Ocampo.
The plans for 2023? A residency program for artists and collectors. The invited artist will be able to work in his own workshop with the aim of establishing a project for the gallery.
Located in a calm environment, in the middle of the countryside and close to the sea, Walden Naturae is an infrequent point of contact between nature and art.
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