Baltasar Portillo

Baltazar Portillo

Baltasar PortilloBaltasar Sculpture, Studio Made limited Edition Furniture since 1995, works and lives in El Sal-vador, 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 sculp-tural studio made furniture by the Furniture Society for an exhibit during the International Con-temporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) 2010 New York.

Museums:Museo de Arte de El Salvador (Marte) “Artist of the month”, August 2010Museo de Antropologia de El Salvador (MUNA) “ESEMUVI”, January 2010Museo de La Paz, Santa Tecla El Salvador “Festival de Escultura 2010 Museo de Arte Moderno de Santo Domingo, Art of Uncertanty Dominican Republic 2008Galleries:Kimrechova Gallery, New York NY, USA 2010Ariodante Gallery, New Orleans LA, USASOMARTS Gallery, San Francisco, California USASublime New York, NY USAGaleria Istmo, Granada, NicaraguaEdgezones Contemporary, Miami, Florida USAGaleria Azul y Blanco, San Salvador, El Salvador Spanish Cultural Center, San Salvador ,El Salvador, FUNKA (solo exhibition) 2006Sala Nacional de Exposiciones, San Salvador, La Fabri-k, Zaragoza. El SalvadorFairs: International Contemporary Furniture Fair New York, NY USA, 2009 , 2010Architectural Digest Show. Pier 96. New York , NY. USA . 2006 , 2009Art Basel, Miami Florida, USA, Edgezones Contemporary 2008Ambiente Internationale, Frankfurter Messe, Germany, 2005 Tendence Internationale, Frankfurter Messe, Germany, 2004Chicago Deisng Show, Merchandise Mart Chicago, USA 2003Auctions:Jefferson Society for The Performing Arts, New Orleans LA, USA 2010 JUANNIO Subasta de Arte Latino Americano Guatemala 2008, 2010The Rockefeller Foundation The Rockefellar Centre, New York, 2006Biennales: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 CollectionAwards:Furniture Society of North America Selection ICFF 2010 INGENIO, National Registry Center of El Salvador, 2007INGENIO National Registry Center of El Salvador, 2003Talent 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

Afrodita

Early 90´s

Awakening

Zebra

Deka

Fist

Mutant

Throne

The transition Late 90´s

Triumph

Early Millenium (2000-2005)

Mieou

Pájaro

Gossip

Indio

Corset

Tower

Fox

(2000-2005Free Mason Series

Bat

Starfish

The Lodge

Bird

Organika

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 un-expected dialogue: “The public is more receptive in understanding the concept of my piec-es 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, arriv-ing 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 Interna-tional 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)