Towers of Memory
Norberto Gómez
Corten Steel, 7,74 x 3,68 mt.
1999-2012
This sculpture forms part of the series The Weapons created in the mid-1980s, composed of pieces that depict various torture instruments and medieval combat devices. The artist turns to the image of an enormous medieval mace to allude to the immense vulnerability of existence, to the torture practiced during the recent dictatorship, and to the symbols of power that inhabit all societies. In this way, the historical gap opens the possibility of reflect upon violence and abuse of power in the present day.
Norberto Gómez (Buenos Aires, Argentina, 1941) He studied at the Escuela Nacional de Bellas Artes «Manuel Belgrano» (Buenos Aires). In 1965 he traveled to Paris and worked in Julio Le Parc’s Studio. In 1976 he was awarded the Premio Marcelo De Ridder and in 1981, the Primer Premio de Escultura at the Montevideo Biennial in Uruguay. In 1991 he had a solo show at the Fawbush Gallery in New York and received the John Simon Guggenheim fellowship. He attended the III Simposio Internacional de Escultura en Guardalavaca, Cuba in 1994. One year later, a retrospective exhibition of his work was held at the Museo de Arte Moderno de Buenos Aires. In the year
2000 he showed sculpture at Galería Ruth Benzacar (Buenos Aires) and received the Premio a la Trayectoria from the Asociación Argentina de Críticos de Arte. He received the Premio Konex for his visual arts activity in 2002. In 2005 he participated in the
«Escultura – Objecto – Relecturas en la Colección del mamba» (Sculpture – Object – Rereadings in the mamba Collection) group show, held at the Museo de Arte Moderno de Buenos Aires. In 2006, he participated in the «30 años. Estéticas de la Memoria» (30 Years. Aesthetics of Memory) show at the Centro Cultural Recoleta (Buenos Aires) in commemoration of the thirtieth anniversary of the last military coup in Argentina. A retrospective show of his work was held at Fundación osde in 2011. His work forms part of the collections of the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, the Museo de arte Moderno de Buenos Aires and the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Rosario, among others. He currently lives and works in Buenos Aires.
