Pablo Atchugarry

Hollis Taggart is pleased to present its fifth solo exhibition of the Uruguayan artist Pablo Atchugarry, whose instantly recognizable marble sculptures are situated in public spaces around the world as well as in numerous museum collections. One of the most important living South American artists, Atchugarry is known for his mastery of marble, which he began sculpting in the 1970s and continues working with to the present day. Pablo Atchugarry: Secrets of the Material will present twenty works by the artist, both marbles and bronzes, including 7 new marble sculptures created over the past year. The exhibition will be on view at Hollis Taggart from April 17 through May 31, with a reception celebrating the artist on Thursday, April 24, from 6 to 8PM.

Pablo Atchugarry (born 1954 in Montevideo, Uruguay) is internationally-renowned for his work with Carrara marble, which he first encountered on a trip to Italy in 1979 and has been at the core of his practice ever since. Describing his relationship with marble in an interview in the exhibition catalogue, Atchugarry said “My dream was to work in marble because that was the material of Michelangelo and the other masters. The Greeks, Cyclades, Romans, Etruscans then later the Renaissance artists and the great Modern artists like Henry Moore and Brancusi all worked in marble. Marble fascinated me. It was like finding true love for the first time.”

Known as one of the few living masters of the medium, the sinuous forms and sense of motion Atchugarry is able to achieve in marble are unparalleled. Pablo Atchugarry: Secrets of the Material is the artist’s first solo show in New York in five years. Having recently turned seventy-years-old – which also marks the forty-fifth anniversary of his first marble sculpture – the exhibition celebrates Atchugarry’s continued passion for the material. At a time when many artists create models they send elsewhere to be fabricated into artworks by others or by machines, Pablo Atchugarry: Secrets of the Material celebrates an artist who has devoted his life to honing his ability to transform marble into undulating layers and folds, a process he has always done by himself, by hand. As he stated in the interview, “That is what differentiates me. I work with the material, always hands-on, every day. I stive to discover the message within the material. I have absolutely no detachment from my sculpture. I create intentionally and directly.”

“We’re honored to celebrate Pablo Atchugarry’s seventieth birthday with our fifth exhibition of his work at the gallery,” said Hollis Taggart, the gallery’s founder and director. “By devoting his life to pushing the boundaries of what’s possible with the time-honored artistic material of Carrara marble, Atchugarry followed in the footsteps of Michelangelo and Moore and has already entered art history. We are very lucky that he continues to perfect his sculptural practice, and that we are able to share his most recent works with our audiences.”

Atchugarry, who represented Uruguay in the 2003 Venice Biennale, splits his time between Lecco, Italy, and Punta del Este, Uruguay, and is actively involved in the arts scenes of both countries. In 2022, Atchugarry opened the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo Atchugarry (MACA) in Punta del Este, the first and only museum dedicated to global contemporary art in Uruguay. The artist is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Michelangelo Award in Carrara, in recognition of his artistic achievements.

For more information about Pablo Atchugarry: Secrets of the Material, please contact us at info@hollistaggart.com or +1 212.628.4000.

For press inquiries, please contact Aga Sablinska at aga.sablinska@gmail.com or +1 862.216.6485.