Nicolas GARCIA URIBURU (1937-2016) - Lot 61

Nicolas GARCIA URIBURU (1937-2016) Victoria Golona, 1968 Oil on canvas, signed twice on the stretcher 146 x 114 cm Provenance: - Galeria RUBBERS Buenos-Aires. - Former Yves Saint-Laurent Collection. Paris, France. - Former Ruben Torres Collection. Paris. - Private Collection Paris. Born in Buenos Aires in 1937, Nicolás García Uriburu was an Argentine visual artist, landscape architect and environmental activist. He is renowned for his "land art" interventions aimed at raising public awareness of environmental issues, particularly water pollution. In 1968, during the Venice Biennale, he dyed the Grand Canal green with fluorescein, an action he later reproduced in other cities such as Paris and New York. These artistic performances were intended to draw attention to the degradation of aquatic ecosystems. In addition to his environmental actions, García Uriburu produced works denouncing the antagonisms between nature and civilization, such as "Unión de Latinoamérica por los ríos" and "No a las fronteras políticas". He also collaborated with German artist Joseph Beuys at Documenta 7 in Kassel in 1982, where they took part in a project to plant 7,000 oak trees. In 1968, García Uriburu presented a bold installation at the Galerie Iris Clert, 3 rue des Beaux- Arts in Paris, an audacious installation: an artificial garden made of acrylic. Although conceptual in nature, this work is part of a process of environmental activism, anticipating the artist's major ecological performances, such as the staining of Venice's Grand Canal with fluorescein during the 1968 Biennale. This exhibition marks a significant transition in García Uriburu's work, taking him from a Pop Art-influenced aesthetic to a more conceptual and militant approach. The choice of Galerie Iris Clert, known for its support of avant-garde and experimental artists, offered Uriburu an ideal platform to explore and present his ecological concerns to an international audience. Nicolás García Uriburu explored aesthetic elements akin to Pop Art in some of his works, particularly early in his career. For example, his sculpture The Three Graces, which won him the Grand Prix at the Salon National des Arts Plastiques in 1968, features characteristics associated with Pop Art, such as bright colors and stylized forms. However, his work soon moved towards a more committed approach, notably through artistic actions aimed at raising public awareness of environmental issues. So, although some of his works have aesthetic similarities with Pop Art, García Uriburu's aim was more to criticize consumer society and promote ecological awareness. This approach sets him apart from traditional Pop Art artists, who often emphasized popular culture without necessarily adopting a critical stance.