Federico Manuel Peralta-Ramos (1939–92) was a paradigmatic artist of the 1960s generation, chiefly in the nexus between art and life. From his production, what is outstanding involves the precariousness of matter in painting, the installation Nosotros afuera [We, the Outsiders] shown at Instituto Torcuato Di Tella, in 1965, and a broad idea of conceptual art that stems from writing. In 1968, he was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship. He used the scholarship funds for a lavish dinner at Hotel Alvear and the acquisition of some artworks; this provoked an internal bickering with the North American institution. He wrote that year the Mandamientos Gánicos [Feel-like-it Commandments]. Since 1969, Peralta-Ramos appears and carries out performances in TV shows. In 1970, he records what he names his non-figurative songs: “Soy un pedazo de atmósfera” [“I am a little piece of atmosphere”] and “Tengo algo adentro que se llama el coso” [I have something in my innermost called the thingumajig”].In 1972, Peralta-Ramos unveiled his art at the CAYC (Centro de Arte y Comunicación) [Art and Communication Center] in order to state his concept “the object is the subject”.
Federico González-Frías (1933) was one of the writers linked to the 1960s artistic vanguard in Argentina, especially to Luis Felipe Noé. He is indeed a character because he brings to the fore a generally ignored nexus, the one between Catholic thinkers and avant-garde activities. His contact with his country wanes in the 1970s, when he establishes himself in Mexico (Merida, Yucatan). Currently, he lives in Guatemala. Far away from Catholicism, he became an international celebrity of the Hermetic tradition and of Symbolism as director of the journal Símbolos [Symbols].
This exhibition highlights the shift toward pictorial matter in Peralta Ramos’ focus. It duly merges with changes taking place in the late-1950s Argentinean art under the impact of Informalism. The figure of Alberto Greco (1931–65) was pivotal in the artistic evolution of Peralta- Ramos, both in the painting’s emphasis on matter, and later on, in conceptual art. In the case of this show, another point of interest should be added; the one establishing the link between the matter and the symbol in a reading of American art just as expressed in pre-Columbian signs. In this sense, the cover of the catalogue is a photograph of Peralta-Ramos in Machu Picchu.
