Liliana Porter. Trabajos forzados, 2024. Installation. 350 x 100 x 50 cm. Courtesy of the artist.
On Saturday, March 16th, Fundación Proa inaugurates its 2024 season with the exhibition "What the Night Tells the Day," conceived by the Padiglione d'Arte Contemporanea (PAC) of Milan and jointly curated by Andrés Duprat, director of the National Museum of Fine Arts, and Diego Sileo of PAC. With the presence of artists and guests, in November 2023, it was inaugurated in the space of this prestigious institution as part of a program aimed at showcasing contemporary art from other countries in the Italian context. Since then, Proa has been involved in the exhibition, collaborating in promoting Argentine art abroad.
Through a collection of photographs, installations, sculptures, videos, and performances by 22 Argentine artists acclaimed on the international scene, "What the Night Tells the Day" explores the diversity of perspectives and expressions of a country that in the past was the destination of major European migrations. As a tribute, the exhibition takes its title from the eponymous novel by Argentine writer Héctor Bianciotti, whose plot intertwines with the careful selection of the curators, as it narrates the migration of his parents and his own migration to Europe.
The public will encounter historical pieces such as León Ferrari's "Western and Christian Civilization," Lucio Fontana's famous slashes, Alberto Greco's provocative performances in Italy, the series of photographs documenting Liliana Maresca's nude performance in the magazine El Libertino, as well as images of Marta Minujín during a broadcast on Channel 7 where the artist created a live performance; and more photographs and an installation by Liliana Porter. The itinerary enriches its narrative with recent works produced by prominent artists who, through diverse media and poetics, delve into key episodes of Argentine history.
The artists featured are: Eduardo Basualdo, Mariana Bellotto, Adriana Bustos, Matías Duville, Leandro Erlich, León Ferrari, Lucio Fontana, Ana Gallardo, Alberto Greco, Jorge Macchi, Liliana Maresca, Marta Minujín, Cristina Piffer, Liliana Porter, Nicolás Robbio, Miguel Rothschild, Graciela Sacco, Alessandra Sanguinetti, Tomás Saraceno, Mariela Scafati, Juan Sorrentino, and Adrián Villar Rojas.
The exhibition is complemented by an extensive program of activities organized by the Education Department to delve into the themes of the works and their implications in contemporary art. It is supported and sponsored by Tenaris in Italy and Argentina, as well as the company Ternium.
Fundación Proa remains committed to both national and international artistic endeavors, supporting agreements with institutions from other countries.