South American artists and their art have a rich mix of culture. Its population comprises locals and immigrants who speak multiple languages and have diverse Western traditions. Geographically, South America has beautiful coastal plains, mountains, and rivers. A great plus to this continent is that South America is the homeland of many classical and modern artists.
John Vanderlyn was the first-ever American artist. He painted seven presidents of America. He is also famous for his painting “The Landing of Columbus.”
Let’s learn about some of the most famous South American Artists.
During the dictatorship in Argentina, his paintings portrayed the brutality of the police state. He painted the destructed images of people depicting the effects of tyranny. He stopped painting for several years after that chaotic period.
1. Luis Felipe Noé
Luis Felipe Noé is an Argentine artist, writer, intellectual, and teacher. Noe collaborated with Otra Figuración with three other Argentinean artists, and their work influenced a figuration movement. His work is known for vivid colors and distorted figures. His group used mixed media art and collage on oversized canvas. He is known in his home country as Yuyo. In 1961, he formed Otra Figuración with three other Argentine artists. Their work greatly influenced the Neo figuration movement.
2. Helmut Ditsch
The art of this 60-year-old artist is inspired by nature; his work focuses on extreme natural phenomena such as mountains, deserts, ice, and water. He works with oil or acrylics on canvas. His paintings “The Triumph of Nature” and “Point of no Return” depict nature beautifully. He has been a mountaineer for much of his life, which is why he is doing nature-inspired work.
For his painting “Das Gebirge,” he spent many weeks in the Austrian Alps to study glaciers. In 2010, he was the most expensive artist in Argentina after the grand scale of his masterpiece “Das Meer II.”
In 2016, he broke his record as an expensive artist by selling his painting “Cosmigonon” for a whooping amount of US$1,500,000.
3. Isabel Iacona
Isabel Lacona was mentored by renowned artists of Argentina, such as Leopoldo Presas, a member of the Academia Nacional de Bellas Artes de Argentina (National Academy of Fine Arts) and President of Sociedad Argentina de Artistas Plásticos and Julio Güero, Maria Luisa Manassero, and Ana Eckell, who represented Argentina at 1997 Venice Biennale.
Isabel is known for her floral art. She uses mixed techniques, oil, and water on canvas for creating her artifacts. She has resided in many European countries; thus, her work reflects the topology of those areas. She worked as a landscape designer and designed gardens; this work experience was the ground for her later floral paintings. Her paintings were not hyper-realistic but synthetic images of her perception of nature.
She is one of the South American Woman Artists, privileged to be the first South American artist whose art was displayed in Hangzhou Art Center. Her “Sunset Flowers” was given as a state present to China. In Austin, Texas, she worked on site-specific work in a catholic chapel. She also worked on children’s portraits. She is known as “The flower artist.”
4. Fabian Perez
He is a South American Modern Artist, world-famous for his celebrity portraits. Fifa news official website displayed his image of the famous football player Messi as an art banner. In 2010, he was selected as an official artist by Grammy Awards. In the same year, his painting was displayed at the Vancouver Winter Olympics.
He also published his art in books. His artwork series, titled “The Living Legends,” includes many influential people on its list. Pope Francis’s portrait is one of those art pieces. Perez is also known for his philanthropy.
5. Andrés Waissman
The 67-year-old South American Visual Artist Of The 21st Century is famous for his black-and-white abstract art and many others. In contemporary Latin American art, he is a very prominent artist. His sculptures are displayed in many museums. His work comprises wire, plaster, and shavings. He states that he prefers these materials because he feels the shavings give a raw feeling to the art.
One unique thing about his art is that it is abstract and has a hidden animal in any form. It can be a straightforward animal or any part of it. He has also created 3-dimensional artifacts combining the painting, shavings, and animal form in an installation format.
Final Word
Art is the artist’s way of viewing the world as they see it. These artists have their way of showing us their vision. Some have demonstrated the power of nature and the beauty of flowers. In contrast, others have taken this medium to depict the horror of man’s behavior toward his fellow beings. Art is not limited to European artists and Art Movements.
We have discussed the 20th Century Artists of South America. Although there is much more to South American Artists, including a few South American female artists, we have opened the door; now it is up to you to explore more.
