Artists
Argentina
Hernan Borches
OPEN Buenos Aires 2023
16.06.23 20.06.23
Hernán Borches was born in Buenos Aires and studied Film and Visual Arts, but what defines him the most is his passion for woodcut. Though he works with and is interested in many techniques (such as etchings, embossing and engraving), woodcut is the technique in which he has developed the most and which most attracts him for its high contrast and the imprint left by its materiality, which allows him to reflect more effectively the effort, movements and lines of the bodies.
There are two themes that obsess him, and he returns to them again and again in his engravings: the rivers-the flow of water-their evolution; the world of work-the almost forgotten crafts-the relationship between work and the social and environmental surroundings in which it takes place. For some time now, Herrnán has been exploring the world of work and crafts through engraving, focusing especially on those less known or forgotten crafts. His goal is to investigate, reflect and capture in his works not only the workers, but also the social environment in which they develop their activity, as well as the natural environment that surrounds them.
These themes were clear in the series that Hernán presented at OPEN Buenos Aires 2023. In his own words: “When I embark on the creation of a work or a series on a particular theme or group, I spend time researching and documenting it beforehand. Whenever possible, I try to live with those I am going to portray, in order to get to know not only their work, but also their realities and experiences.
BIO
Hernán Borches
1976 | Buenos Aires, Argentina
Lives and works in Buenos Aires, Argentina
EDUCATION
2019 | Artes Visuales. UNA, Buenos Aires, Argentina
2000 | Diseño de Imagen y Sonido. FADU-UBA, Buenos Aires, Argentina
EXHIBITIONS
2023 | Comercios de Barrio (solo show). 25 de Mayo Cultural Center, Buenos Aires, Argentina
2023 | Impresiones sobre Sudeste (solo show). Haroldo Conti Cultural Center, Buenos Aires, Argentina
2022 | Salón Nacional de Artes Visuales Domingo José Martínez. Museo Municipal de Bellas Artes Fernando Bonfiglioli, Villa Maria, Cordoba, Argentina
2021 | El Río, el Hombre y el Junco (solo show). Museo Casa de las Culturas de Tigre., Bs. As., Argentina
2021 | Junqueros del delta del Paraná (solo show). Casa de las Artes Tacuarí, Argentina
AWARDS AND OTHERS
2023 | OPEN Buenos Aires 2023: CIEC–OPEN Buenos Aires residency grant award
2022 | Selected for the project Instalación comercios de barrio in the Metropolitan Fund of the Ministry of Culture of the City of Buenos Aires
2021 | Manuel Belgrano Salon, category Engraving
2019 | Honorable Mention at the Manuel Belgrano Salon, category Engraving
Related Activities
Encounters, International Projects, Workshops, Exhibitions, Fellowships
OPEN 2023 | Activities
Workshops, talks and demos
17.06.23 20.06.23
From June 17th to June 20th, 2023, the OPEN Buenos Aires: International Encounter of Emerging Printmakers was held at the Casa de la Cultura–Edificio La Prensa in the City of Buenos Aires. Throughout its 4 days open to the public, the selected artists shared with the public not only their works in traditional and contemporary graphic techniques, but also offered workshops, demos, participatory practices and talks, all free and open to the public.
OPEN Buenos Aires is an event of professionalization for emerging artists and dissemination of graphic practices for the local public, whether specialized or without previous knowledge in the field of printmaking in particular or contemporary art in general. As part of the application that each artist submitted, it was the artists themselves who proposed different instances of exchange with visitors to the event, bringing them closer to their techniques, their projects, their portfolios and their working methods.
The activities that visitors to the event were able to enjoy were:
- Guided tour by David Arteagoitia (director of Open Portfolio FIGBilbao)
- Guided tour by Luciano Pozo (OPEN 2023 artist)
- Activation: DESPOSEÍDES (by Aniela Troglia, OPEN 2023 artist)
- Print Jam in two stations:
STATION 1 PRINTING MATTERS: words and actions that empower (by Mariana Gayoso, OPEN 2022 artist)
STATION 2 THE MAGIC OF XYLOGRAPHY: creative workshop by Laura Pires and Hernán Borches (OPEN 2023 artists) - Guided tour by Inés Gaggero (artist OPEN 2023)
- Activation: FRAGMENTED NARRATIVES: AI in art (by Zerré, OPEN 2023 artist)
- Professional workshop: EXPLORING NEW HORIZONS: Innovation in contemporary graphics with plastic materials and bi-component resins (by David Arteagoitia, Director of Open Portfolio FIGBilbao) sponsored by CCEBA-Embassy of Spain
- Workshop: GYOTAKU 3D: dimensional traces (by OPEN 2023 artists Santiago Crespo and Candela del Valle)
- Activation: TEMPORARY ARCHIVES (by Amelia Herrero OPEN 2023 artist)
- Workshop: Florisgraphic printing (by Luciano Pozo, OPEN 2023 artist)
- Visual poetry workshop: ESTROFAS GRÁFICAS (by OPEN 2023 artists Gabriela Esterovich and Inés Díaz Saubidet)
- Workshop: BETWEEN LIGHT AND NATURE: demo of cyanotype and chlorotype (by Clara Nerone and Rapainú, OPEN 2023 artists)
- Workshop: KITCHEN-LITHO: alchemy in the kitchen (by Inés Gaggero, OPEN 2023 artist)
- Workshop: VISUAL EXPRESSION AND ARTIVISM (by Darío Marroche and Pablo Pérez Torres, OPEN 2023 artists)
- Workshop: MINIMUM MINIMORUM: the greatness of the small (by Pablo Damseaux Tabárez OPEN 2023 artist)
Encounters, International Projects, Fellowships
OPEN 2023 | Awards
Awards ceremony
20.06.23 20.06.23
From June 17-20, 2023, the OPEN Buenos Aires: International Encounter of Emerging Printmakers was held at the Casa de la Cultura–Edificio La Prensa in the City of Buenos Aires. Throughout its 4 days of opening to the public, the selected artists shared their works in traditional and contemporary print media techniques with the visitors, celebrated the opening of the exhibition, offered workshops, demos and open talks and, on the last day, 9 of the 16 artists received the prizes awarded by the event’s organizers.
In addition to the 16 participation grants awarded to the finalist artists, after all the activities of OPEN Buenos Aires were completed, the following prizes were distributed:
- 4 FIG Bilbao Awards: four artists with a stand each at the Fig Bilbao Fair November 2023 + accommodation in Bilbao (awarded to Candela Del Valle, Gabriela Esterovich, Clara Nerone and Luciano Pozo)
- 2 grants for artistic residencies at CIEC Foundation in Betanzos, Spain in 2024 (awarded to Hernán Borches and Darío Marroche)
- 1 residency grant at the BDC-Basque bioDesign Center in Bilbao, Spain (awarded to Santiago Crespo)
- 1 artist-in-residence grant at La Rural, Tucumán, Argentina (awarded to Rapainú)
- 1 artist-in-residence grant at Proyecto´ace, Buenos Aires, Argentina (awarded to Zerré)
The prizes were awarded by the Awards Jury, formed by David Arteagoitia (Bilbao, Basque Country, Director of FIG Open Portfolio), Pedro Galilea (Salamanca, Spain, Vice President and Director of Fundación CIEC), Iñaki Alonso (Bilbao, Basque Country, President of FIG Bilbao), and Alicia Candiani (Buenos Aires, Argentina, Director of OPEN Buenos Aires and Fundación´ace) based on the quality of the works presented and the activities for the public proposed and carried out by the artists themselves.
International Projects, Workshops, Portfolio Review, Open Calls
OPEN 2023 | Critiques
Portfolio Reviews
20.06.23 20.06.23
Between June 17 and 20, 2023, the OPEN Buenos Aires: International Meeting of Emerging Graphic Arts was held at the Casa de la Cultura–Edificio La Prensa in the City of Buenos Aires. OPEN Buenos Aires is a professionalization event for emerging artists and dissemination of print media practices for the local public, whether specialized or without previous knowledge in the field of printmaking in particular or contemporary art in general. As part of the professionalization of the artists, on Sunday, June 18, a review of portfolios was carried out by a team specialized in traditional and contemporary print media, engraving and graphic and printed visual arts.
The review of portfolios was in charge of:
- Pedro Galilea, Director of Fundación CIEC–Centro Internacional de la Estampa Contemporánea, Galicia, Spain
- Esteban Álvarez, artist and professor at UNA–Universidad Nacional de la Artes, CABA, Argentina
- Adriana Moracci, artist and masterprinter, director of Taller AM, CABA, Argentina
- Micaela Trocello, artist, coordinator of the International Biennial of Engraving and Small Format Printed Art BIGAI and professor UNC–Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina
- Alicia Valente, curator of the National Museum of Engraving and Professor at the University of La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Throughout 3 hours, they offered portfolio reviews, feedback, work criticism, and professional guidance to both OPEN artists and independent artists who had previously signed up to participate in this free activity.
