Ernestos Ballesteros
Bio
Born in Buenos Aires in 1963, he attended Ernesto Murillo’s workshops and the Instituto de Arte Labardén from a young age. After beginning studies in advertising, he enrolled in 1983 at the Escuela de Bellas Artes “Prilidiano Pueyrredon,” which he left in his third year. A versatile artist, he works in drawing, printmaking, painting, caricature, installations, and furniture design. His work spans several stages: from 1984 to 1987 he created the character “Vito Ver” (Serie de la locura, En el hangar, Afuera del hangar); later, he joined “El Grupo de la X” and explored TV colors and formats, followed by a review of modern art traditions. Since 1991, conical forms have supported his figurative experiments. He has developed series based on mathematics and astronomy, highly precise drawings, light-bulb-based artifacts, and interventions on night skies. He has received major awards, including the Gran Premio de Honor of the Fondo Nacional de las Artes (1986), Premio Telefónica (1996), Premio Leonardo (1998), Premio Trabucco (2001), and Premio Kónek de Dibujo (2012).
Statement
Ballesteros conceives his work as a constant experiment, inspired by popular science and the impossible. His processes record the passage of the body in action, from minimal gestures, like painting a repetitive rectangle, to “choreographic” movements made visible. In some series, he analyzes his actions by counting lines or intersections, attempting to measure the possibilities of the Universe, with numbers reflected in the titles. His nocturnal photographs follow the same logic, marking lights to create “impossible images.” He also undertakes collective projects with other artists, from pencil races to skeins the length of the Earth’s circumference, exploring collaboration and artistic culture.
