Mariano Ferrante
b. 1974, Bahía Blanca, Argentina
Mariano Ferrante is one of the most dynamic and innovative young successors of a long tradition of geometric abstract masters from South America. Since the 1930s, geometric abstraction currents developed by artists, particularly from Argentina and Venezuela, were at the forefront of international trends. Fuelled by optimism and idealist notions of progress, artists looked to change the world through reason and order. Inspired by science and mathematics, artists developed their own visual expression for their vision of the future.
Ferrante is not only a worthy contemporary descendant of such a strong legacy but, as his predecessors at the time, a spearheader that looks towards the future. His works exude an energy and optimism that are as relevant and necessary today as they were almost one century ago. However, Ferrante builds upon these ideas and brings something new, fresh and relevant to our society today. In his work, technical ability and conceptual discourse marry seamlessly. Under the beautifully constructed surfaces, underlies a current of irregularities, controlled accidents that make the composition alive, personal, human. He creates mathematical structures with rules, only to break them in the smallest corners of his multichromatic canvases and installations. He creates the illusion of repetition, when in reality every line and every stroke is different from the previous one. In short, Ferrante looks at the past, only to immediately turn its back to it. He invites us to face an optimistic whilst imperfect future. A future where science continues to bring progress, but where human sensibility and imperfection make it vibrant.
A self-taught artist since he was 10 years old, Ferrante studied mathematics, science, architecture and design in Mar del Plata, Argentina. In 2001, he would commit himself to his artistic production and start exhibiting his works after one year of studies in Spain. By 2009 and with several individual and collective shows -including the Museum of Contemporary Art and the Museum of Modern Art in Buenos Aires- he was awarded with a creators grant by the Metropolitan Foundation for Culture, Arts and Science in Argentina. In 2010, he created several public installations for landmark buildings in Argentina. In 2012 he would start exhibiting internationally in New York. More recently, the British Council and the Arts Council England have invited Ferrante to represent Argentina in the project “Rivers of the World”, an annual art festival in the River Thames that invites artist from around the world to create public art installations.
Mariano Ferrante is represented by Puerta Roja in Asia, with his first solo exhibition in Hong Kong in 2015.
