Pablo Atchugarry

Pablo Atchugarry was born in Montevideo, Uruguay in 1954. His father Pedro, a student of the maestro Joaquín Torres García, was a great art lover who possessed the aptitude and interests that Atchugarry already manifested in his childhood, stimulating him to take up the challenge of painting. Atchugarry started showing his works at the age of eleven and, as an adolescent, soon began feeling the need to express himself in other forms and materials, such as sculpture in cement and compositions in metal and wood, although without neglecting his painting. His first solo exhibition was held in the Civic Room in Montevideo in 1972, followed two years later by his first exhibition abroad in Buenos Aires.

At the end of the seventies, Atchugarry made several trips to France, Spain, and Italy, where he held his first solo showing in Lecco. In 1979, he discovered marble as a thoroughly fascinating material, sculpting his first piece in Carrara, La Lumière. Although he returned regularly to his native land, in 1982 he decided to settle in Lecco when he received the commission for his first large sculpture, a pietà, which is now the property of the city’s Basilica of San Nicolò.

Since 1989, his sculptural poetics have allowed Atchugarry to express himself through monumental works, which are now situated in various public spaces in Europe and Latin America. Other works contribute their beauty to enriching private and public collections.  In 1996, his Semilla de la esperanza (Seed of Hope) was installed in the sculpture garden of the Uruguayan Government Building.

The Pablo Atchugarry Museum opened in Lecco, nestling between the lake and the mountains, on September 25, 1999. Here visitors can admire the artist’s creations and observe him at work in his workshop next door to the Museum and in close proximity to the Carrara marble quarries where the stone has been mined since the time of Michelangelo.

In the spring of 2001, the Province of Milan organized a retrospective of the last ten years of Atchugarry’s work in Palazzo Isimbardi. The Obelisk of the Third Millennium was inaugurated  the same year in the town of Manzano. In early 2002, Atchugarry’s sculpture Ideali was given to the Prince Rainier of Monaco as a tribute to the 50th anniversary reign and is situated in the Avenue Princesse Grace of Monte-Carlo. His Monument to the Civilisation and Culture of Lecco Labour was installed as the centerpiece of the Caleotto Roundabout in Lecco in May 2002. In July 2002, Atchugarry received the Michelangelo Award in Carrara, in recognition of his artistic achievements. His sculpture entitled Sensation of the Infinite was added to the collection of the Lercaro Museum in Bologna in 2003. 

Atchugarry represented Uruguay in the 50th International Exhibition of the Visual Arts at the Venice Biennale in 2003 with an installation of eight sculptures in Carrara marble and Grey Bardiglio marble entitled Dreaming of Peace. In 2005 the Berardo Collection in Lisbon, Portugal added to its collection Camino Vital, 1999. In the same year, Atchugarry opened a new atelier at Punta del Este, Uruguay, where he works during the European winters. Atchugarry’s 2006 solo exhibition, A Journey between Matter and Light, was held at the renowned Groeninge Museum in Bruges, Belgium. In September 2012, a monumental stainless steel sculpture was installed in St. James’s Square, London to coincide with the Olympics; the same year a grand marble example was presented in Times Square, New York.

January 2007 marked the inauguration of the Pablo Atchugarry Workshop and Foundation in Uruguay. The mission of the foundation is to introduce and educate children and young people to the fine arts through public programs. He lives and works in Lecco and Punta del Este.  Countless museums and major private collections around the world hold works by the sculptor.