Richard Long, Mendoza Walking, Faena Arts Centre, Buenos Aires, Argentina

His first exhibition in Argentina, Mendoza Walking showcases two new site-specific works from British artist Richard Long (b. 1945) at the Faena Arts Center. This art centre rose out of the old machine room of an iconic turn of the century mill situated in the historic port of the Puerto Madero district of Argentina. Installed in the central gallery space, Los Molinos, Long’s works utilise materials native to the region and explore the relationship between art and nature.

For over forty years, Richard Long has pioneered walking as sculptural practice and has visited some of the world’s most remote and wild landscapes. Although the works produced are informed by the specific environment in which they were created, they also transcend territorial limits. Following his 17 day journey through the Tupungato and Cordón del Plata in the Andes mountains of Mendoza Argentina, this exhibition is inspired by the topography and nature of the country.

His work is in the act of walking itself, alongside the documentation of this walk in photography and text, sculptures that he makes along the walk and his interventions in the landscape. Finally it is represented in the sculptures that Long makes specifically for gallery presentation, utilising local materials and inviting visitors to share a dialogue with the landscape. The pieces on display at Fuena Arts Center include Andes-Paraná, a large-scale mud work made with native mud and clay, Pampas Dreaming, a sculpture made with wood from the North Western provinces of Argentina’s Littoral region and a selection of photographs of sculptures created in-situ throughout the Cuyo area.

Richard Long, Mendoza Walking, until 28 July, Faena Arts Centre, Aimé Paine 1169, Buenos Aires, Argentina, www.faenaartscenter.org

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Credit:
1. Richard Long, Aconcagua Circle, (2012). Courtesy of Richard Long. © Richard Long.