Artist Statement

Contemporary Abstract Work
I was born in Buenos Aires in 1944. My early years in Argentina have left me with an appreciation for bright colors, heavy textures, and bold forms. Carnivals, ferias, fiestas, and Dia De Los Santos were the focus of my life.

There were no museums in Concepcion Del Uruguay, art and life were interchangeable – one and the same. The masks of carnival, the elaborate costumes and dances, and the heavily textured plaster walls painted in bright colors were my museum.

In my own work I use bright colors – and I paint, scrape and slash to expose layers and create texture. I create a skin, not only a colored surface. Shapes are lively and simple; reminded me of the toys I played with, the furniture I used, and the organic forms of the campo. My stories are the stories of all of us – Mama y Papa, Mama and daughter, family cradles, and rings; the things we all know and feel deeply.

I use paper because it is both light and strong, and versatile. In Argentina even crowns fit for a king are made of paper, as well as pinatas, flowers, and saints. Like myself, paper is a most humble material with noble aspirations.

– Mario Kujawski

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