Marcos Acosta
Artist
Marcos Acosta (born in Cordoba, Argentina, 1980) started his art journey at a very early age and after working nonstop for 30 years, he is without a doubt one of the strongest painters of his time and among the young Latin American artists of greatest international stature.
Marcos’ career has mostly developed in Argentina and Latin America after completing a Bachelor of Fine Arts at University of Córdoba between 1998 and 2003 and studying under Argentinian master Carlos Peiteado. It was with him that Marcos perfected his drawing, painting and composition.
Through his work, Marcos explores multiple traditional languages, like drawing, engraving and sculpting as well as more contemporary ones, like video and installation work. Painting is, however, the backbone of his work and his preferred medium.
Marcos Acosta’s paintings illuminate humanity’s intersection with the natural world and evolved out of his upbringing near the Sierras de Córdoba in central Argentina. Marcos’ dramatic canyons and jagged mountain tops are interrupted by abstract lines that prominently announce our arrival into these spaces. Although we are a part of nature ourselves, these linear shapes seem to indicate us in a contemporary sense, while his curvilinear forms reveal the natural environment around us. Those of us who share a deep connection with nature may recognize these contrasting elements as a record of our movement through these settings. Acosta’s bold and bright colors illustrate the joy, excitement, and thrill that these moments can bring, while also highlighting the delicate balance in which we live. Tread lightly through these worlds, hints Acosta, but never lose sight of the vibrancy and renewed sense of self that such profound landscapes can provide.
From his early beginning, Marcos has kept an intense place in the Latin American art scene, with more than 35 solo shows in important museums, institutions, and art galleries in Argentina and Brazil. He has participated in more than 120 group exhibitions. He has also been part of international art fairs like Art Miami, ExpoChicago, Arte BA (Buenos Aires, Argentina), Mercado de Arte (Córdoba, Argentina), Art Context (Miami), SWAB Art Fair (Barcelona, Spain) and Antwerp (Amberes, Belgium).
His work can be found in private collections in Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Costa Rica, United States, Spain, France, England, Luxembourg, Saudi Arabia and Singapore. His work is also part of public collections in museums and public institutions like Palacio Nacional de las Artes Palais de Glace (Buenos Aires), Museo Provincial de Bellas Artes Emilio Caraffa (Córdoba), Centro de Arte Contemporáneo Chateau Carreras(Córdoba), Museo de Bellas Artes de Salta (Salta, Argentina), Museu do Ingá (Níteroi, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), Fundación Casa Badesc (Florianópolis, Brazil), Museo Municipal de Artes “Dr. Urbano Poggi” (Rafaela, Argentina), Museo Arq, Francisco Tamburini (Córdoba), Universidad Privada Siglo XXI (Córdoba) and more.
“Origin of the Catastrophe”, a series of paintings, drawings and engravings created between 2007 and 2009, is one of his most important projects. He explored the idea of the conflictive relationship between human being and nature through large canvases, small and large drawings and engravings. It was exhibited in different museums around Argentina paired with a book and documentary with the same name. Between 2012 and 2016 he created another series called “All the Cities”, which got to be exhibited in one of Argentina’s most important museums, the Provincial Museum of Fine Arts E. Caraffa, Córdoba.
This body of work was composed of more than one hundred paintings, wich deepened even more the concept of the Man /Nature relationship, and introduced the artist to new field of research, especially with regard to time and human memory on the experience in the world. He also edited a book with texts and paintings on that occasion.
More recently, in 2020 Marcos was part of a project of great significance. AMIA (Argentinian-Israeli Association), an important institution in Argentina, commissioned Marcos to develop an art project in commemoration of the terrible terrorist attack that took place at the AMIA building on July 18, 1994.This was the deadliest terrorist attack in Argentina and South America to date. Marcos painted a portrait of each of the victims using their last photo as reference. In many cases, these watercolors became a way to rebuild each person’s memory which may have blurred by time. The complete project, 85 portraits in all, were donated by the artist as a sign of reconciliation and remembrance. “Re-remembering”, as the project was called, is a permanent exhibition at AMIA and is accompanied by a documentary about it.
Apart from his ongoing regular studio practice, Marcos has been teaching classes and workshops in drawing and painting for the last fifteen years. He gives special emphasis to composition and concept as he helps artists find their unique voice and message. These classes are for both beginners and more advanced creators as well.
The artist has two studios in the province of Cordoba, one of them in the city and another one in the rural area, which are a strong source of inspiration for him. These natural areas of great beauty end up making their way onto the canvas every now and then. Now the artist moved to Denver, Colorado, in order to continue with his career and growth, exploreing the natural areas of Colorado and making it the new subject of his ongoing practice. He is represented internationally since 2020 by Hexton Gallery Aspen.
