Biography
Carla Bertone was born in Buenos Aires in 1975. In 1997 she graduates from ENBA P. Pueyrredón and, in 2004, presents his Bachelor thesis —including interviews to two important female artists of the so-called geometric avant-garde in Argentina: Didy Laañ and Lidy Prati—, that were later published on Ramona 62. She does her first individual exhibition, “Motivos para un cuadro” (Motives for a painting) in 1999. She takes part in numerous collective exhibitions, among which: “Arte Abstracto (hoy) = fragilidad + resiliencia”, curated by Mario H. Gradowczik at CCEBA, 2005; “D”, at Belleza y Felicidad, 2006; “Buenos Aires Art for Export”, Eyestorm, London, 2007, “One Day Wall Piece”, Carla Bertone & Miguel Mitlag, Neukölnn, Berlin, 2007, and “Anonymous Drawings#8”, Meinblau, Berlin, 2008.
In 2006 she does “Vértice Cristal” (Crystal Vertex), an individual exhibition at the CC Recoleta, sponsored by the Fondo de Cultura de Buenos Aires’ Young Art grant. In 2001 she receives a creation grant in Fine Arts from the Fundación Antorchas.
Vision of art
1. Choose a work that represents you, describe it in relation to its format and materiality, its relation with time and space, its style and theme; detail its production process.
I think there isn't any particular work of art that represents me the most. Of my last works, I very much like "Gem". It's a concentrated, very well adjusted and catchy work. There is a coloured reflection that it produces on the wall that has a profound impact on me, that I find very pleasant to look at. You might say I'm more interested in my creation process, which is mobile, in constant change -but from an apparently fixed and static position. I always work with geo abstraction from its formal aspect, but keeping in mind every detail, every minimum event. I try to take full advantage of its possibilities but without repeating myself and without coming up with a permanent mechanism of what resources I know that work. I have some preset guidelines and others that change. Sometimes it is as if the work moves forward by itself, now that I'm venturing myself into 3D with a sculpture formed by two planes and a hanging piece. It is as if I'd continuously be swinging from a center.
2. In general terms, how would you suggest to approach your work?
I wouldn't suggest any particular way. Each viewer somehow projects his or her own sensibility and knowledge. Seeing and contemplating art is a way of broadening and expanding those limits.
3. In reference to your work and your position in the national and international art fields, what tradition do you recognize yourself in? Who are your contemporary referents? What artists of previous generations are of interest to you?
I see myself as a part of the geometric abstraction tradition from the Río de la Plata. I've learnt and enjoyed a great deal with Madi Art and the AACI. I still admire them today.
4. Choose works or exhibitions from the last ten or fifteen years which in your opinion were very significant and explain why
I tend to feel that everything moves either very quickly or very slowly. Anyhow, I haven't been able to withold that strongly significant work of art, or it could be that I'm a little bit intimidated by such a question. I very much enjoy Fabián Burgos’ paintings; an exhibition I saw yesterday by Luciana Lamothe in ASGA also seemed very interesting to me.