Gaston Ugalde
"I'm a very obsessed photographer; trying to communicate, and integrate our country with art."
One of the vanguards of Bolivian art in the international sphere - Gaston Ugalde has been a leader in visual arts throughout his long-spanning and impressive career. His work is deeply influenced by Bolivian culture, tradition, and politics, often engaging with these influences in a dialogue of mutual influence. Ugalde's work is highly mutable, serving both as a documentation and conversation with countless social movements. His installation works are complex mergers of form and environment. Their ecosystem being both a core facet of their existence and critical to what one takes from them. The heat of a desert, working hand in hand with the heat of a bright red, pulling those who see them into a unified experience.
Gaston Ugalde, born 1944 in La Paz, Bolivia (Venice Biennale 2009, 2001) is considered a visual arts leader in the region. His work is deeply rooted in Bolivian traditions and flled with socio-political references. He studied architecture (Universidad Mayor de San Andres, La Paz), Economics and Political Science Studies (Simon Fraser University Canada) and completed his studies at the Vancouver School of Art. Spanning a half-century career, he is considered a video-art pioneer in Latin America and his work includes performance, painting, sculpture, installation, land-art, photography and printmaking. Since 1972 he has had over 90 solo-shows and over 100 collective exhibitions all over the world. Gastón Ugalde is the most internationally known Bolivian artist and has exhibited at the most important biennales such as Venice (2009, 2001), Sao Paulo (1978, 1981, 1985), Paris (1982) and La Havana (1986, 1999).
