Mamarrachos, since 2011

In the ongoing series of Mamarrachos, oversized doodles extend across and beyond canvases to blur the lines between painting, sculpture, and installation. The word “mamarracho”—which means “mess” in Spanish—speaks not only to the visual tangle Iván Argote creates on the wall, but also to the deeper disorder the artist interjects into the canons of art history and the conventions of medium specificity. As such, the Mamarrachos stand as a self-contained project within the artist’s polyvalent practice that nonetheless develop some of his longstanding concerns.

The Mamarrachos stem from Retouch, a 2008 video in which Argote revisits the work of Piet Mondrian displayed at the Centre Pompidou in Paris. Appearing as an intruder with a can of black spray paint while the museum is open to visitors, Argote films himself overlaying a wave-like form across two glass-covered paintings by the Dutch abstract artist Piet Mondrian before leaving the scene. His quick gesture, uninterrupted, smooth, and enhanced in post-production, contrasts with the geometrical compositions Mondrian pioneered and painstakingly produced throughout his career. Comprising both real and virtual elements and without damaging Mondrian’s works, the video extends beyond simple provocation to invite reflection on the often static temporality of the museum and the limits of traditional easel painting.

Taking up these cues, the Mamarrachos emerge as tangible manifestations of Argote’s earlier musings. Since 2011, they have appeared in black set against white walls and recently as more colorful iterations, which add chromatic energy to the more traditional opposition between black and white. Through wooden additions, the artist activates the walls and space beyond the canvas to create hybrid objects that challenge the boundaries of traditional artistic categories, and in so doing, embody Argote’s creative approach rooted in the continuous dialogue between gesture and context.