Artespacio exhibits works by Mario Conde Cruz

(La Paz, June 09, 2009).- Artespacio, the Andean Development Corporation’s (CAF) art gallery in Bolivia, has been housing works of the renowned Bolivian artist Mario Conde Cruz, winner of the Pedro Domingo Murillo Award in 1992, since June 4. This sample of his work, consisting of a series of masterly watercolors, shows a fusion of inanimate objects, geometric shapes, and different personalities.

A graduate of the Escuela Superior de Bellas Artes La Paz (College of Fine Arts) and with an artistic career spanning nearly 20 years, Conde Cruz has specialized in watercolors and found in the human form and in man’s social, cultural, and economic problems the best source of inspiration for his works.

According to the architect, Carlos Villagómez, who gave the commentary on the selection during the opening ceremony, the paintings on show depict ambiguous experiential issues, where form and drawing are given predominance over color, as can be seen in the fine strokes and a complex composition of ideas and objects. “This trait stems from the terror the painter has of voids,” he stated.

Mario Conde’s paintings reflect this need to fill empty spaces, to assemble there forms and colors using every available surface. To his way of thinking, nothingness kills us because our spirits are sponge-like rather than compact.

When asked about the name of the exhibition, this talented painter said that he prefers not to name his exhibitions because it tends to predispose the public to see something that has nothing to do with the painting, “which is why I prefer to leave it up to the public to see what they want to see.”

Conde’s works on show at CAF’s Artespacio reflect an irreverent attitude to power and religion and show the duality of miscegenation and the colonial period; however, it also has personalities created from elaborate images that combine elements with no predetermined script. In many cases, his works have no title.

The exhibition will continue at Artespacio, located on Av. Arce Nº 2915, Esq. Clavijo (San Jorge), until July 10. Opening hours: 8:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.