BIENNALE DI VENEZIA 2026 – ARGENTINA PAVILION
Artist: Matias Duville | Title: Monitor Yin Yang | Curator: Josefina Barcia
2026.09.11
Time and space appear to have transformed, another universe inhabits the remnants of this warehouse, while time marches in reverse, or maybe in the future. Upon entering this exhibit, you understand that you must leave your current conceptions in order to experience this artist's domain. Immersed in his vision, you begin strolling down the path, unsure whether ground below you will even remain stable.
Salt and charcoal, swirling, composing landscapes not of this world, literally drawn one material on the other. Vestiges of buildings, drawn, emerge here and there, secondary to the otherworldliness of the terrain. This scene appears to have emerged on this spot, and continues to take over. Nature replacing humanity. Humanity being the anomaly. Nature the constant.
The simplicity of the message is made clear by its two basic materials. Salt left behind by dried up oceans. Charcoal left behind by burned forests. "As residues from the sea and forest respectively they represent both geological and human time."
This transformation is calm, peaceful, and deliberate. You are drawn in, and you accept. Leisurely you roam from one end to the other, quietly, you are not rushed. Your mind floats across the landscape, your body fading, dispensed with, unnecessary in this setting. Change is beauty. Balance is beauty. This abstraction is beauty.
by John C. Clements
thinkartmagazine.com
In association with Arroscia Residency
________________________________________________________________________________________
