Marcelo Bonevardi
Encyclopedia
Marcelo Bonevardi was a Latin American avant-garde
artist
known for his mixed media
pieces. A native of Argentina
, Bonevardi spent the greater part of his career in New York City
, where he absorbed avant-garde practices and influences such as abstraction and primitivism, using them to invent a pictorial and symbolic language with which to express his deep spirituality and affinity for myth and ritual. Bonevardi is best known for his shaped canvas
es, often employing mixed media
, which combine elements of painting and sculpture, reflecting his early training and lifelong interest in architecture. During his lifetime, Bonevardi received many honors, including the International Prize at the X Bienal de São Paulo, first prize in the “Ten Argentine Artists at the United Nations” permanent installation, and the Platinum Prize from the Konex Foundation
.
Bonevardi's work has been collected by many leading North American and Latin American museums, including the Museum of Modern Art and the Guggenheim Museum in New York City; the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes and the Museo de Arte Moderno in Buenos Aires
; the Museu de Arte Contemporânea da Universidade in São Paulo
; and the Museo Rufino Tamayo
in Mexico City
.
Avant-garde
Avant-garde means "advance guard" or "vanguard". The adjective form is used in English to refer to people or works that are experimental or innovative, particularly with respect to art, culture, and politics....
artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
known for his mixed media
Mixed media
Mixed media, in visual art, refers to an artwork in the making of which more than one medium has been employed.There is an important distinction between "mixed-media" artworks and "multimedia art". Mixed media tends to refer to a work of visual art that combines various traditionally distinct...
pieces. A native of Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, Bonevardi spent the greater part of his career in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, where he absorbed avant-garde practices and influences such as abstraction and primitivism, using them to invent a pictorial and symbolic language with which to express his deep spirituality and affinity for myth and ritual. Bonevardi is best known for his shaped canvas
Shaped canvas
Shaped canvases are paintings that depart from the normal flat, rectangular configuration. Canvases may be shaped by altering their outline, while retaining their flatness. An ancient, traditional example is the tondo, a painting on a round canvas: Raphael, as well as some other Renaissance...
es, often employing mixed media
Mixed media
Mixed media, in visual art, refers to an artwork in the making of which more than one medium has been employed.There is an important distinction between "mixed-media" artworks and "multimedia art". Mixed media tends to refer to a work of visual art that combines various traditionally distinct...
, which combine elements of painting and sculpture, reflecting his early training and lifelong interest in architecture. During his lifetime, Bonevardi received many honors, including the International Prize at the X Bienal de São Paulo, first prize in the “Ten Argentine Artists at the United Nations” permanent installation, and the Platinum Prize from the Konex Foundation
Konex Foundation
Konex Foundation is an Argentine cultural non-profit organization created in 1980 to promote, stimulate, help, and participate in any form of cultural, educational, intellectual, artistic, social, philanthropic, scientific or sports initiative, work, and enterprise, in their most relevant aspects,...
.
Bonevardi's work has been collected by many leading North American and Latin American museums, including the Museum of Modern Art and the Guggenheim Museum in New York City; the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes and the Museo de Arte Moderno in Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
; the Museu de Arte Contemporânea da Universidade in São Paulo
Museum of Contemporary Art, University of São Paulo
The Museum of Contemporary Art, University of São Paulo is a contemporary art museum located in the main campus of the University of São Paulo, in São Paulo, Brazil, and in Ibirapuera Park, in the same city.The museum was inaugurated in 1963, when the Brazilian industrialist and art collector...
; and the Museo Rufino Tamayo
Museo Rufino Tamayo
The Museo Rufino Tamayo is an art museum in the city of Oaxaca, Oaxaca, in southern Mexico.Housed in a building constructed in 1979 by the architects Teodoro González de León and Abraham Zabludovsky, the museum contains collections of pre-Columbian art once owned by artist Rufino Tamayo...
in Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
.