Gordín emerged in the Argentina of the late 80’s and was part of a group of artists who were criticised for their apparently apolitical art. In fact the artist talks of the sense of the ‘joy of creation’ which suffuses his work as a necessary reaction to the extreme darkness of the terrifying period in the 70’s which Argentina went through.
Gordín’s fascination with the world of books led to his iconic series of faux magazine covers which drew from the an- cient marquetry techniques found in Renaissance palaces and churches. Magazine covers mark a continuum through the artist’s production. Gordín’s work connects two worlds not often seen together: the exquisitely crafted object and the 5 cent magazine meant to be read and discarded. This ability to embrace culture from a 360 degree standpoint is crucial in understanding both the artist and his practice.
His early works contain an ability to look at the world with the wonder of a child. His constructions transmit pure visual pleasure through their endless playfulness and originality. An admirer of the great comic French film-maker Jacques Tati, Gordín engages with the concept that comedy can take shape from any kind of observation. Inevitably, as both his artistic vision and his technique have developed, the wonder has remained as has his lightness of touch, yet it has progressively outgrown that of the child.
Giving display of unique narrative inventiveness and observational acumen, scenes from a range of subjects varying from imaginary museums, libraries hit by a disaster, historical tableaux etc, all made in miniature and enclosed within a glass case, ultimately comment on man and his relationship to society.
Sebastián Gordín was born in 1969 in Buenos Aires. He currently lives and works in Buenos Aires. Gordín studied drawing at the School of Fine Arts Manuel Belgrano and graduated in 1989 as a teacher of drawing. His works have been shown across Europe, America and Africa in prominent institutions including Instituto de cooperación Iberoamericana (ICI) and the First Biennial of Art in Johannesburg. He also recived the International Artists in Residence Argentina (RIAA). Throughout his career, Gordín has been presented in several international galleries and art fairs including Miami Basel, Arco Madrid, Art Rio and Zona Maco. He had a major retrospective exhibition at Buenos Aires Museum of Modern Art in 2014. His works are part of several public and private institutions: Musac, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofïa, Museo de Arte Moderno de Buenos Aires, MAR Museo de Arte de Rio de Janeiro, Blanton Museum of Art, Houston Museum of Fine Arts, Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes de Argentina, Museo de Arte Contemporaneo de Bahia Blanca, Argentina and the Coleccion Cisneros in New York City and Caracas.