Liliana Porter (b. 1941) was born in Buenos Aires, and began studying art at the Escuela Nacional de Bellas Artes Manuel Belgrano [National School of Fine Arts]. In 1958 she and her family moved to Mexico City, where she enrolled at the Universidad Iberoamericana and took classes from the German artist Mathias Goeritz (1915–90), specializing in printmaking with Guillermo Silva Santamaría. Her work during this period was the basis of her earliest exhibitions. She returned to Buenos Aires in 1961 and remained there until 1964, continuing her art training with Fernando López Anaya and Ana María Moncalvo. In 1964 she moved to New York City where she joined forces with Luis Camnitzer and José Guillermo Castillo to start the New York Graphic Workshop (NYGW, 1964–65), a space where classes were held and other artists’ works were printed. It was also a place where artists gathered to discuss printmaking and its role in contemporary society, which led to a variety of group projects. The workshop closed in about 1970. In 1975, Porter and Camnitzer, who were married at that time, opened the Studio Camnitzer-Porter in Valdottavo (Lucca). After they separated, the studio became the Studio Camnitzer. Liliana Porter currently lives and works in Rhinebeck, New York state. Fernando López Anaya (1903–87), an Argentine printmaker with an impressive career, was involved in the “renewal” of printmaking in Argentina. During the 1950s, he began to experiment with embossing and a raised white line technique and, later, with die cast. This essay is relevant because it is part of the catalogue for one of Liliana Porter’s first exhibitions in Buenos Aires and, therefore, is an early critical reading of her work.
