Baltazar Portil o
Baltasar Portil o Baltasar Sculpture, Studio Made limited Edition Furniture since 1995, works and lives in El Salvador, member of the Furniture Society of North America (Studio Made Furniture) and founder of La Fabri-k, the conversion of an old industrial venue in El Salvador into a Cultural Center, and studio space for artist. Recent work was chosen for an exhibition of the current trends of sculptural studio made furniture by the Furniture Society for an exhibit during the International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) 2010 New York. Museums: Museo de Arte de El Salvador (Marte) “Artist of the month”, August 2010 Museo de Antropologia de El Salvador (MUNA) “ESEMUVI”, January 2010 Museo de La Paz, Santa Tecla El Salvador “Festival de Escultura 2010 Museo de Arte Moderno de Santo Domingo, Art of Uncertanty Dominican Republic 2008 Galleries: Kimrechova Gallery, New York NY, USA 2010 Ariodante Gallery, New Orleans LA, USA SOMARTS Gallery, San Francisco, California USA Sublime New York, NY USA Galeria Istmo, Granada, Nicaragua Edgezones Contemporary, Miami, Florida USA Galeria Azul y Blanco, San Salvador, El Salvador Spanish Cultural Center, San Salvador ,El Salvador, FUNKA (solo exhibition) 2006 Sala Nacional de Exposiciones, San Salvador, La Fabri-k, Zaragoza. El Salvador Fairs: International Contemporary Furniture Fair New York, NY USA, 2009 , 2010 Architectural Digest Show. Pier 96. New York , NY. USA . 2006 , 2009 Art Basel, Miami Florida, USA, Edgezones Contemporary 2008 Ambiente Internationale, Frankfurter Messe, Germany, 2005 Tendence Internationale, Frankfurter Messe, Germany, 2004 Chicago Deisng Show, Merchandise Mart Chicago, USA 2003 Auctions: Jefferson Society for The Performing Arts, New Orleans LA, USA 2010 JUANNIO Subasta de Arte Latino Americano Guatemala 2008, 2010 The Rockefeller Foundation The Rockefellar Centre, New York, 2006 Biennales: I, II, III Bienal de Arte Paiz, San Salvador, El Salvador Public Art: Ciudad de Santa Tecla, El Salvador, Public Sculpture, Paseo El Carmen Casa de La Cultura, Suchitoto, El Salvador, Permanent Collection Awards: Furniture Society of North America Selection ICFF 2010 INGENIO, National Registry Center of El Salvador, 2007 INGENIO National Registry Center of El Salvador, 2003 Talent of the Year, Dominican Republic Embassy, 2000 Training: Centro Nacional de Artes de El Salvador www.baltasarportillo.com
Baltasar: “I persue the integration between art and function, by creating sculptures you can sit on. The perception as a functional or an art piece depends on the context which they are placed� www.baltasarportillo.com
Early 90´s
Afrodita
Awakening
Zebra
Deka
Fist
Mutant
The transition Late 90´s
Throne
Triumph
Early Mil enium (2000-2005)
Mieou
Pรกjaro
Gossip
Indio
Corset
Tower
(2000-2005 Free Mason Series
Fox
Bat
Starfish
The Lodge
Organika
Bird
Yorkshire
Tetris
Black Dove
Madonna
Wild Flower
BALTASAR PORTLLO AND THE SKELTOID CHAIR Baltasar Portillo works and lives in El Salvador, a self taught artist, that became closer to art as a result of experimentation, with a group of friends working in the town of Suchitoto, where he began to experiment with Land Art Installations. During this period, he encountered him self creating a sculpture that had functional characteristics in a sense that it could be use as furniture. Baltasar understands that the function of an object, changes the relationship with the spectator, creating an unexpected dialogue: “The public is more receptive in understanding the concept of my pieces when they understand their function because, as humans, we are accustomed to engage in a relationship with objects through functionality”. From this point, he begins the course of an investigation about the relationship that exists between art and function, arriving to one of the most difficult questions for an artist: What is the function of art? The Furniture Society of North America selected the ¨Skeletoid Chair¨ to represent the movement of Studio Made Furniture, in the context of the 2010 edition of ICFF International Contemporary Furniture Fair in New York Baltasar intended to create sculptures that would not block the view of the space where they were placed. The concept of the pieces as the ¨Skeletoid Chair¨, arise from a bidimentional study about transparencies, which the artist had been working, while the idea of representing an animal forms comes from the experimental work while living in the rural town of Suchitoto. The Skeleton represents the idea of animal and fossils that in an imaginary way connect the past and the future. Baltasar, will continue his artistic investigation concentrating in the central theme of his work; the functional aspect of his sculptures. His goal is to create a piece that will not resemble a piece of furniture but that it will be usable. Giulia Moschen Invited Curator MARTE, Museo de Arte de El Salvador Text written for Baltasar Portillo’s exhibition as part of the program ¨Artist o The Month¨ by Museo de Arte de El Salvador (August) 2010)