Facundo de Zuviría: Siesta Argentina and other modest observations

NEW YORK, Dec. 20, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Inspired by the vernacular architecture, design, and urban landscape of Buenos Aires, photographer Facundo de Zuviría (b. 1954) captures the intimate and often unnoticed details of daily life in his images of the Argentine capital. Curated by Alexis Fabry and Gabriela Rangel, the exhibition centers on the photo-essay, Siesta Argentina. Originally conceived as a photobook, the series was triggered by the 2001 "corralito crisis"—the social and economic downturn that shook the Argentine nation. Published in 2003, Siesta Argentina has been exhibited in Argentina, France, and Germany, but is now being presented for the first time in the United States. A press preview and reception will be held at the Americas Society in NYC on Tuesday, January 24, at 5:00 p.m. RSVP: mediarelations@as-coa.org

Popularized by journalist Antonio Laje, the corralito, which translates to "the corralling" or "herding," refers to the economic measures adopted by the Argentine government to prevent a run on the nation's banks, and included limiting cash withdrawals and the freezing of assets. De Zuviría charted the effects of the corralito through 36 black and white photographs of the shuttered storefronts he encountered during his walks through the capital. At times marked by graffiti and other signs of public discontent, the repetitive frontality of de Zuviría's closed facades attests to the depth of the crisis, documented with a conceptual dryness.

"The introspective and roving images of Facundo de Zuviría operate in dialogue with the work of North American artists Martha Rosler and Zoe Leonard," says Rangel, Americas Society chief curator and Visual Arts director. "Each of them constructed important forensic archives of spaces lost to urban development."

To highlight such transnational connections, Rosler's The Bowery in two inadequate descriptive systems (1974–1975) and Leonard's Analogue (2007) are publications featured in the exhibition alongside de Zuviría's acclaimed photobooks. Though each represents a distinct project, the works of de Zuviría, Rosler, and Leonard share an archival framework as explorations about the rapid changes and transitions that transform cities across the globe.

"According to Facundo de Zuviría, his photographic journeys through Buenos Aires were born from his obsessions," notes Fabry. "Rather than mere chance, his images derive from an effort to reconstruct the city from its fragile remnants, its 'modest differences,' to borrow the words of [Argentine writer Jorge Luis] Borges."

Portraying the city's idiosyncratic details, de Zuviría has described his images as an attempt "to save things from oblivion and time….I had the vocation then of an archivist, or of a collector, and my photos salvaged things."

The exhibition Facundo de Zuviría: Siesta Argentina and other modest observations is made possible, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, and by the generous support of the Neuss Fund, Genomma Lab Internacional, Erica Roberts, Isabella Hutchinson, the Sistema Federal de Medios y Contenidos Públicos de la Nación Argentina, and anonymous donors.

Visit as-coa.org/visualarts for additional details on our public programs.

Americas Society is the premier organization dedicated to education, debate, and dialogue in the Americas. Established by David Rockefeller in 1965, our mission is to foster an understanding of the contemporary political, social, and economic issues confronting Latin America, the Caribbean, and Canada, and to increase public awareness and appreciation of the diverse cultural heritage of the Americas and the importance of the inter-American relationship. Americas Society Visual Arts program boasts the longest-standing private space in the United States dedicated to exhibiting and promoting art from Latin America, the Caribbean, and Canada; it has achieved a unique and renowned leadership position in the field, producing both historical and contemporary exhibitions.

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SOURCE Americas Society