Mamarrachos, since 2011

The Mamarrachos series is composed of black acrylic paintings on canvas and wood; their specificity lies in Iván Argote’s line, reminiscent of graffiti, that extends beyond the canvas itself. The Mamarrachos directly reference the artist’s performance immortalized in the video Retouch (2008), in which he spray-painted over two Piet Mondrian paintings exhibited at the Centre Pompidou. The canvases were protected by plexiglass and thus not damaged. This iconoclastic gesture, which shocks the viewer, prompts reflection on the nature of our relationship to art and to the inalienable works that make up public collections. In a similar vein, by allowing his strokes to exceed the boundaries of the Mamarrachos canvases, Iván Argote instills a critical reflection on the respect for conventions and norms.