Cecilia Cubarle paints. She makes bold claims for painting and the pleasure of the โact of paintingโ. She enjoys the sensuality and the materiality of paint as a plastic resource; yet, at the same time, you feel that she is paying tribute to the masters of the history of art that have been shaping the iconography of her imagination. With her profoundly self-referential body of work, Cubarle forms part of the generation that began working at the dawn of the new millennium, at the moment when the western world felt that all its certainties had been undermined. If, towards the end of the 20th century, the collapse of the grand narratives of history laid bare the fragility of existence, then the start of the 21st century brought with it the sensation of permanent uncertainty and the establishment of a new world order for which the userโs manual is yet unknown.
For Cubarle, painting is her refuge, the space in which her fortitude can flourish. It is a place from where she can make herself heard, from where the artist can articulate her message using a language of plain colours, of almost graphic directness, that resorts to โready-madeโ images, and that sometimes even flirts with pop imagery. A simple and effective language in which she comments on, questions and discusses certain aspects of contemporary life with which she feels less than comfortable.
In her paintings the artist appropriates, copies, amplifies, translates and replicates with obsessive meticulousness everything that captures her attention. A butterfly, an old Singer sewing machine or traffic signs, can be the point of departure, the trigger for any of her series.
With her penetrating gaze, Cubarle critically metabolises her surroundings. Her anger at manโs exploitation of man and the subjugation of the rights of the citizen are the origin of the series on Les Droits de lโHomme (the Human Rights) from 2004.
Cubarle has demonstrated similar commitment in dismantling several of the myths of our consumer society: from a Marilyn โto cut-outโ to a โlook-but-donโt-touchโ Madonna, from a Superman knocked out by the global crisis to a Bin Laden converted into merchandising. From glamour girl to material girl, from superhero to supervillain, her characters file past in a biting commentary on the state of our contemporary world.
For Cecilia Cubarle the history of art is an enormous โcollection of figurinesโ that she ransacks to stock her own collage of images. She freely uses the most sacred and historical works of art, which she decontextualises with total abandon to put into a new context.
In her series Art & Market, itโs all about dealing the artist ponders the question of how works of art are valued: for their aesthetic value or for their market price? She reflects on the phenomenon of financial speculation that is now associated with the market, and the mechanisms that regulate it. At the same time she parodies the very lexicon of the medium: Estimation and Conditions to buy and sell Art are some of the titles of her works.
Displaying her personal universe, Cubarleโs painting carries a heavy existential load. Early in Cubarleโs career, her drawing teacher, Pablo Gonzรกlez Padilla, observed, โHer work involves her and commits her both artistically and morallyโ. Through images that at first sight seem carefree and cheerful, the work of this young artist from Cรณrdoba, Argentina, now settled in Paris, transmutes into a gigantic question mark that unrelentingly interrogates the spectator. Cubarle gives no respite.
Behind the decorative appearance is revealed a profoundly humanist body of work, of great ethical commitment, in which the artist is permanently asking what her place is in the scheme of things. But, more significantly still, for her the overriding question is: โWhat is the place of contemporary humankind at this historical crossroads where we are fated to live?โ
Clelia Taricco
(extract from Cecilia Cubarle moments)
Cecilia Cubarle mรฅlar. Hon gรถr ansprรฅk pรฅ mรฅleriet och lusten till โsjรคlva mรฅlandetโ. Hon njuter av mรฅleriets sensuella och materiella formskapande, samtidigt som hon sรคtter vรคrde pรฅ de konsthistoriska mรคstarna som har format hennes ikonografiska bildsprรฅk. Cecilia Cubarles verk รคr starkt sjรคlvrefererande. Hon tillhรถr en generation som bรถrjade arbeta i det nya millenniets inledning, dรฅ vรคstvรคrlden fick uppleva hur alla sanningar undergrรคvdes. Om historiens hรถjdpunkter fรถll i slutet av 1900-talet och avslรถjade existensens brรคcklighet, har tjugonde รฅrhundradet vรคckt en kรคnsla av stรคndig ovisshet och en ny vรคrldsordning utan anvรคndarhandledning.
Fรถr Cecilia Cubarle รคr mรฅleriet en tillflykt och en plats fรถr motstรฅnd. En plats frรฅn vilken konstnรคren gรถr sig hรถrd, med hjรคlp av ett sprรฅk med slรคta nรคstan grafiska fรคrger och massproducerade bilder, som ibland ocksรฅ flรถrtar med popkonstens bildsprรฅk. Ett enkelt och tydligt sprรฅk med vilket hon kommenterar, ifrรฅgasรคtter och diskuterar de samtidsfrรฅgor som oroar henne.
Konstnรคren anvรคnder sig av allt som fรฅngar hennes intresse och kopierar, utvidgar, รถverfรถr och replikerar det i sitt mรฅleri. En fjรคril, en gammal Singer symaskin eller en trafikskylt kan vara utgรฅngspunkten eller startskottet fรถr vilken som helst av hennes serier.
Med sin blick smรคlter Cecilia Cubarle kritiskt ner sin omgivning. Hennes upprรถrdhet รถver mรคnniskans exploatering av mรคnniskan och kuvade medborgerliga rรคttigheter รคr ursprunget till serien Les Droits de lโHomme (de mรคnskliga rรคttigheterna) frรฅn 2004.
I samma anda รคgnar sig Cecilia Cubarle รฅt att demontera flera myter i vรฅrt konsumtionssamhรคlle: frรฅn Marilyn som โklippdockaโ till Madonna โsom man fรฅr se men inte rรถraโ, frรฅn en av vรคrldskrisen besegrad Fantomen till Bin Ladin fรถrvandlad till handelsvara. Frรฅn glamourflickan till Material Girl, frรฅn superhjรคlten till superskurken, figur efter figur i en bitsk kommentar av tillstรฅndet hos vรฅr samtid.
Fรถr Cecilia Cubarle รคr konsthistorien en enda stor โbilderbokโ med vars bilder hon sรคtter ihop sitt eget bildcollage. Pรฅ ett helt obesvรคrat sรคtt anvรคnder hon sig av erkรคnda konsthistoriska verk, som hon lyfter ut ur sitt sammanhang och sรคtter in i ett nytt.
I sin serie Art & Market, itโs all about dealing ifrรฅgasรคtter konstnรคren ett konstverks vรคrde โ estetiskt vรคrde eller marknadsvรคrde? โ mot bakgrunden av den ekonomiska spekulationen pรฅ konstmarknaden och de mekanismer som reglerar den. Estimation och Conditions to buy and sell Art, รคr nรฅgra av titlarna pรฅ hennes verk, dรคr hon parodierar kring konstmarknadens ordval.
Cecilia Cubarles mรฅleri och personliga universum รคr mycket existentiellt laddat. Hennes teckningslรคrare Pablo Gonzรกlez Padilla har sagt โatt hennes verk gรถr henne delaktig och engagerar henne, bรฅde konstnรคrligt och moralisktโ. Bakom bilderna som till en bรถrjan ger ett glรคttigt och bekymmersfritt intryck, stรคller verken av denna unga konstnรคr frรฅn Cรณrdoba i Argentina (nu bosatt i Paris) stora frรฅgor till betraktaren. Cecilia Cubarle lรฅter en inte hรคmta andan.
Bakom den dekorativa ytan finner vi en djupt humanistiskt konst, med stort etiskt engagemang, som stรคndigt frรฅgar efter sin plats, men framfรถr allt vilken som รคr platsen fรถr dagens mรคnniskor vid det historiska vรคgskรคl de nu lever i.
Clelia Taricco โจ
(utdrag ur Cecilia Cubarle moments)
Lโart de Cecilia Cubarle est une succession de rรชves. Presque palpables et cependant irrรฉels, quasiment surrรฉalistes. Lโobservateur est comme aspirรฉ dans un paysage qui fait penser ร Renรฉ Magritte, un paysage libรฉrรฉ de toute logique et saturรฉ de beautรฉ.
Mon travail est secret, comme un journal intime, “mi trabajo es como un diario รญntimo”, รฉcrit Cecilia Cubarle dans des notes que lโon peut considรฉrer comme un manifeste de son art.
Elle souligne dans ce texte quโelle sโefforce de voir les rapports entre lโart et le marchรฉ, entre le fรฉminin et le masculin, une perpรฉtuelle alternance entre lโesthรฉtique et le grotesque. “Esthรฉtique ou non-esthรฉtique ?” se demande-t-elle dans son manifeste.
Dans sa peinture acrylique “Mรฉtamorphose” datรฉe de 2004, Cecilia Cubarle donne ร voir le contraste tranchant entre dโune part les papillons lรฉgers et multicolores dโun marque-page, et dโautre part la lourdeur technologique dโune vieille machine ร coudre.
Mรชme chose dans sa peinture “Vice-Versa” datรฉe de 2005, oรน Cecilia Cubarle sโamuse ร opposer et รฉlaborer le masculin et le fรฉminin, contraste illustrรฉ dโun cรดtรฉ par dโimposantes voitures de collection, et de lโautre par des parterres de fleurs.
Cecilia Cubarle est nรฉe en 1975 ร Cรณrdoba, en Argentine. Entre 1994 et 2000 elle a fait ses รฉtudes ร lโรcole des Beaux Arts, ร lโUniversitรฉ de sa ville natale. Munie de son diplรดme des Beaux Arts, elle est partie pour New York oรน elle a participรฉ ร lโArts Students League. Sa formation artistique inclut ร la fois le dessin, la gravure et la peinture. Elle vit et travaille maintenant ร Paris.
Cecilia Cubarle a eu sa premiรจre exposition individuelle de peinture, intitulรฉe “Documentaciones falsas” (Fausses documentations), ร Cรณrdoba, Argentine en 2000. Elle prรฉsente la mรชme annรฉe (avec son groupe “7 s/t”), “Gula Patologรญa del exceso”, une exposition d’installations trรจs remarquรฉe, ร Quito, รquateur. C’est en 2005 qu’elle fera “Paris Uptown, it’s all about dealing”, sa premiรจre exposition personnelle ร Paris, ร la Galerie Salvador.
En 2006, Cecilia Cubarle sโest associรฉe au groupe “Les nouveauX pop”, formรฉ de dix artistes issus de la nouvelle gรฉnรฉration pop art โ parmi lesquels MariaManuela, Antonio de Felipe, Philippe Huart et William Sweetlove. Ils ont participรฉ tous ensemble ร plusieurs expositions collectives en Europe et en Asie.
De maniรจre inattendue, dans le style de Monty Python, une des ลuvres de Cecilia Cubarle reprรฉsente un gรขteau de mariage. On voit dโabord un couple de mariรฉs au sommet de la pรขtisserie, suivi dโun autobus londonien, lui-mรชme entourรฉ de peintures de Maรฎtres. On reconnaรฎt notamment le cรฉlรจbre urinoir de Duchamp et la Joconde de Lรฉonard de Vinci. A lโhumour vient se mรชler un รฉcho de lโHistoire de lโArt.
Johan Persson
