Biography
Argentine and Spanish people share an intense bond. Historically, we lived under the same rule until they wisely reveled against the Spanish monarchy, conquering their independence in 1816. Yet later our links grew even stronger, when hundreds of thousands of Spaniards migrated to South America searching for better perspectives. Many set sail from Galicia, the region where I live —and this is why Spaniards are known generically as “gallegos” in Argentina. Thus, our encounters are unavoidable and enriching, due to our bond, but also to the irresistible manner in which they speak Spanish, due to their fascinating accent.
Now our shared history has become tighter, bringing us closer one more time. Latin America is experiencing a rise that contrasts with a certain European decadence or a lack of illusion. This rise has increased our curiosity about the things happening over there. Day after day, news arrives talking about a society with hope for the future, despite the lingering multiple difficulties and injustices. Brazil, a country in which Florencia has frequently worked, is the economic driving force of a region in full transformation, where culture and art are crucial.
Florencia’s career emerged in this context and runs parallel to all these changes. Her professional experience began just after one of the worst moments in her country’s recent history (the Argentine crisis of the “corralito” in 2001 and 2002). She then collaborated with the Museo de Arte Moderno in Buenos Aires (2004-2005) and the Pinacoteca do Estado in São Paulo (2006). Later she earned her M.A. in Curatorial Studies from the Center for Curatorial Studies, Bard College, New York. Ever since she has been relentlessly engaged in curatorial projects. Her practice is linked to the poetical and intellectual energy of the rising Latin America: the art of Nicanor Aráoz, Alejandro Cesarco, Jorge Macchi, Jorge Méndez Blake, Gian Paolo Minelli, Ernesto Neto… among many others.
Last summer, in Bern, Florencia presented a booklet she called a “book in the making,” in which she has kept working during the past year. This book exemplified the passion and rigor defining both, her personality and her work. Three words come to mind when I recall Florencia’s introduction to her project: “silence,” “doubt,” and “language.” She employed a vitrine in which she displayed a version of her forthcoming book, an egg-box (¡?), and a collection of photographs. Although this format is unusual to us curators—and we had to do an effort to feel comfortable—Florencia managed to seduce with her words, at once eloquent and strongly personal, not exempt from humor. Departing from the work of artists that she admires, like Marcel Broodthaers or Karin Sander, she traced new ideas in order to unveil aspects of their practices unknown to many of us. That day, in Bern, Florencia not only overcame the anxiety we felt during the first days of the Sommerakademie, but clearly showed that her research will offer us a great book. Indeed, her views were much more interesting than many of the others that were expressed at the Zentrum Paul Klee. For Florencia is, as we can appreciate reading any of her texts, a talented and original writer.
Currently, we hear again and again discourses speaking about a new geopolitics of culture, in which the South will at last be free from the domineering North. The new millennium will bring about these changes, and people like Florencia will lead us towards a future full of surprises and profound emotions.
Pedro de Llano
Finisterre, Summer 2012
