Jacques Bedel
Bio
JACQUES BEDEL (Buenos Aires, 1947)
Sculptor, painter, designer, and architect, he graduated from the Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism at the University of Buenos Aires in 1972. At the same time, in a self-taught manner, he developed his artistic career and, from its beginnings, became a member of the Grupo de los Trece (later Grupo CAyC), founded by Jorge Glusberg, alongside artists such as Víctor Grippo, Clorindo Testa, Luis Fernando Benedit, and Alfredo Portillos, among others.
Throughout his career he has received more than 45 national and international awards and distinctions. Among the most significant are the Braque Prize (Buenos Aires, 1968); the Grand Prize of Honor at the Itamaraty Prize during the 14th São Paulo International Art Biennial together with Grupo CAyC (São Paulo, 1977); the Fulbright Award, which led him to conduct research at the National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center at Cornell University (New York, 1981) as a Visiting Fellow and, the following year, at NASA (Washington, D.C., United States, 1982); the First Prize of the Art Critics’ Award, The Young Generation (Buenos Aires, Argentina, 1978); the Latin American Grand Prize at the 7th Buenos Aires Architecture Biennial (Buenos Aires, Argentina, 1998); and the Grand Prize awarded by the Aerolíneas Argentinas Foundation during the 3rd Ibero-American Painting Competition (Buenos Aires, Argentina, 2004).
He has participated in 14 International Art Biennials and in more than 500 exhibitions in Argentina and abroad. In 1986, he took part in the 42nd Venice Biennale (Corderie dell’Arsenale, Venice, Italy) with Grupo CAyC and again in 1999 during the 48th Venice Biennale. Among collective exhibitions, notable examples include Memories of Underdevelopment (2017), held at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, Museo Jumex (Mexico), and the Museo de Arte de Lima (MALI), Lima; and Testa + Bedel + Benedit. 30 años del Centro Cultural Recoleta (2010), at the Sala Cronopios, Centro Cultural Recoleta (Buenos Aires, Argentina). In 1993, he participated in Latin American Artists of the Twentieth Century at The Museum of Modern Art (New York, United States).
Among his most significant solo exhibitions are: Rapsodias (Sala Matta, Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Santiago de Chile, 2023); Rapsodias (Museo Emilio Caraffa, Córdoba, 2018); Ad infinitum (Maman Fine Art, 2017); Deus ex Machina (Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Neuquén, 2016); Aproximaciones (Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Buenos Aires, 2008); Ficciones (Sala Cronopios, Centro Cultural Recoleta, Buenos Aires, 2005); The Memory of Mankind (Simon Watson Gallery, New York, United States); El sexto sello (Galería Ruth Benzacar, Buenos Aires, Argentina); and Luz, color, reflejo y movimiento (Instituto Torcuato Di Tella, Buenos Aires, 1969).
Among the numerous bibliographic references to his artistic work, the following monographs stand out: Jacques Bedel. Ficciones, with texts by Corinne Sacca Abadi and others (Buenos Aires: Ediciones Larivière, 2008); Jacques Bedel. Aproximaciones, with texts by Ana María Battistozzi and others (Buenos Aires: Antoine Raymond Editor, 2008); Los crímenes políticos (Buenos Aires: Raymond, 2008); while Jacques Bedel. Una cierta arquitectura (Buenos Aires: Inventarium, 2020) brings together a selection of houses and a catalogue raisonné of his architectural production. Jacques Bedel. Arte político (Buenos Aires: Inventarium, 2023), with an essay by Graciela Sarti.
His works are held in private collections and museums in Argentina and abroad. He currently lives and works in Buenos Aires.
Statement
A sculptor, painter, designer, and architect, he earned his degree from the School of Architecture and Urban Planning at the University of Buenos Aires in 1972. At the same time, he developed his artistic career as a self-taught artist and, from the very beginning, became a member of the Grupo de los Trece (later known as Grupo CAyC), founded by Jorge Glusberg, alongside artists such as Víctor Grippo, Clorindo Testa, Luis Fernando Benedit, and Alfredo Portillos, among others.
