Artists
Argentina
Sandra Astuena
MUTUALISMS
07.02.24 28.02.24
Sandra Astuena was part of the 8th edition of Together Apart, under the theme and title of MUTUALISMS. Sandra is someone who attempts to ensure that her actions and thoughts converge with her feelings and instincts.
ARTIST STATEMENT & TESTIMONY
My fascination with Nature and Creation, especially with its ability to rebirth again and again in a continuous vital cycle, is represented by round and oval forms and shapes, sometimes as drops, others as leaves, that in an interlinked and harmonious coexistence morph and transform into each other. Sometimes this cycle of life is joined by a figure with a feminine form, representing our species, searching for a path in a collaborative coexistence with Nature, becoming one with the Whole as a necessary element for our survival in Harmony of which She is a part.
The Programme provides a bridge to connect with other folk from different parts of the world, with whom, without this intiative, contact would have been highly improbable. To be able to successfully pursue a collective project with companions whom I had previously never met, on a totally random basis, turned out to be a very enriching and positive experience. In my view the project’s overall coordination, quality of the talks and presentations, together with the materials made available, were the trigger that allowed us to interact and achieve our collective goals, as described above.
BIO
Sandra Astuena
1962 | Buenos Aires, Argentina
Lives and works in Buenos Aires, Argentina
EDUCATION
2011 | IUNA (National University Institute of Art, Argentina), Buenos Aires, Argentina
1995 | Attorney at Law (University of Buenos Aires), Argentina
EXHIBITIONS
2023 | Miradas II. Centro Cultural Madrazo, Santander, Spain.
2023 | Sobre lo no dicho. Centro de Edicion, Buenos Aires, Argentina
2023 | II Anual de Grafica Contemporanea. Museo del Fin del Mundo, Ushuaia, Argentina
2023 | Mostra Litografica. Palazzo Butera, Butera, Sicily, Italy
2022 | Miradas I. Casa de Cultura Fernando Velarde, Suances, Cantabria, Spain
AWARDS & OTHERS
2021 | Contemporary Graphics Art. IDBSA Art Gallery, Washington, DC, USA
2020 | International Printmaking. Brick Lane Gallery, London, United Kingdom
2019 | Printing Women Printmaking. North Miami Beach Library, Pompano Cultural Center, Miami, USA
2016 | Mention in Ceramics Category, 57th International Ceramics Salon, Buenos Aires, Argentina
2009 | 2nd Prize Sofitel Auditorium, Escobar, Argentina
Related Activities
Together Apart
# 8: Mutualisms | Results
Artists in Dialogue
07.02.24 28.02.24
In this new edition of Together Apart, we met again, this time under the title Mutualisms. During 4 weeks of intense exchange, 12 artists from different countries and cities collaborated and contributed to create this space of mutuality in which to freely explore their ideas.
In the words of Daniela Ruiz Moreno, program curator: “The 8th edition of Together Apart was, once more, a very gratifying surprise to us—
the coordinators and creators of the programme. It was very interesting to see how the individual interests of each artist were articulated with each other through collaboration across different disciplines, the generation of collective archives, and the invention of methodologies for coexistence. We were able to observe a gradual development, akin to an accumulation and metabolization of all the knowledge and information shared by the various team members and the invited artist, Rodrigo de Arteaga, as well as the invaluable knowledge shared by each participant. We explored alternative approaches to artistic practice, a different way of conceiving scientific knowledge, and acted in response to the urgent need for these two areas to collaborate more frequently. As one of the participants mentioned, the final session felt as watching -in a fast forward speed- a garden grow. Bringing back one of the philosophers who accompanied us during this program, I would like to quote again the words of Michael Marder regarding the writings of Hildegard von Bingen, a Benedictine abbess who in the 12th century was contemplating more holistic and spiritual approaches to ecology and the plant world. Hildegard proposes to look at the mystery of plantness, of greening greenness, of growth. I believe that the arts, in relation to many other forms of knowledge, serve as a vehicle to achieve an awareness of the interdependence inherent in all forms of life on this planet and a re-enchantment with the mystery that life forms entail. Each participant in this program allowed us to do just that, from observing the mystery of trees that make many fundamental cycles of our lives possible, to the landscapes that surround us and shape us, the different constructions and perceptions of time, to the intricate and not entirely straightforward relationship of our coexistence and co-creation with technology and nature.”
