Pablo Atchugarry

Pablo Atchugarry hand makes his work in marble. He was encouraged by his father, a student of Joaquin Torres Garcia, to pursue his art from an early age. He began painting as a child and was exhibiting internationally in his early twenties. In 1979, he discovered Carrera marble in Italy and was ultimately inspired to settle in Lecco, Italy, in 1982 to be closer to the marble mines. Marble is a vital component of his output, regularly used for public sculptures that have earned him international renown. His sculptures use verticality to consider how marble might stretch and expand in three-dimensions. Like indentations on the bark of a tree, they are graceful, dramatic, and best observed in the round. The act of carving stone, linked to the Italian masters’ use of the material, is heavily reliant on the artist’s self-taught skill. 

Atchugarry’s loyalty to marble is unrelenting, but his practice has expanded to include materials such as Portuguese pink marble, steel, bronze, and wood. He inaugurated the Fundacion Pablo Atchugarry in 1999 to exhibit his prolific and oftentimes gigantic sculptures. Atchugarry continues to show regularly internationally, he represented Uruguay in the 50th Venice Biennale, and has shown at a number of institutions including Museu Brasiliero de Escultura in Sao Paolo, Museo Nacional des Artes Visuales in Montevideo, Art London, 4a Biennial de Sculpture Contemporain in Paris, Contemporary Art International in Milan, IX Bienal de Arte Internacional in Chile, the Oscar Niemeyer Museum in Curitiba, and the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes in Buenos Aires, among many others. In 2002 Atchugarry was awarded the Michelangelo Award for his work in Carerra.