- La sordidez
- Sordidness
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One of Antonio Berni's driving fundamental philosophies for art making derived from his insistence that art address the social and political realities from which it stemmed. To that end, his choice of materials alluded to the economic conditions and disparities in Argentinean society.
Berni experimented in various directions by combining a hodgepodge of elements: industrial refuse, scraps from the sewing basket, domestic objects of daily life. He subsequently transferred these ideas and working strategies into magnificent large-scale works made out of myriad collaged materials on board. He developed a series of sculptures in a similar vein around two primary themes: sordidness and voracity. This sculpture epitomizes the series of "Cosmic Monsters" Berni produced in response to the painful and troubled sociopolitical realities of his country's history.
ProvenanceThe artist; by descent to his son, José Antonio Berni; sold to MFAH, 2004.
Exhibition History"The Passionate Adventure of the Real: Collage, Assemblage, and the Object in 20th Century Art," Museum of Fine Arts Houston, October 18, 2003–February 8, 2004.
"Inverted Utopias: The Avant-Garde in Latin America, 1920-1970," Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, June 20–September 12, 2004.
"Acquisitions of the Last Five Years: Selections of Modern and Contemporary Art," Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, July 15, 2005–October 15, 2005.
"North Looks South: Building the Latin American Art Collection," Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, June 7–September 27, 2009.
"Modern and Contemporary Masterworks from Malba - Fundación Costantini," Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, April 22–August 5, 2012.
“Antonio Berni: Juanito and Ramona,” Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, November 10, 2013–January 26, 2014; Phoenix Art Museum, June 28–September 28, 2014; Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires, October 29, 2014–February 25, 2015.
"Between Play and Grief: Selections from the Latino American Collection," Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, March 16–September 8, 2019.
Cataloguing data may change with further research.
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