Fourth International Sculpture Symposium in Providencia

With great success closed the Fourth International Sculpture Symposium sponsored by the Nuestros Parques group and the Cultural Foundation of the Providencia Municipality.

The Park of Sculptures, on the north shore of the Mapocho river, was the ideal space to gather twelve international and four national sculptors, all with renowned trajectory in the arts, in an encounter that sought to bring in public and art together in its most direct and personal form: through the creation of the artworks by the artists themselves in a large open air workshop.

After receiving over 170 applications from all over the world, the organizers of this event selected sixteen artists, due to their trajectory and body of work, as well as for the originality of their proposals: Carlos Monge (Mexico), Ulises Jiménez (Costa Rica), Arijel Stukelj (Slovenia), Mihail Levchenco (Ukraine), Sodong Choe (Korea), Dalgat Dalgatov (Russia), Tzvetanka Koykova (Belgium), Wen-Ching Tsai (Taiwan), Bertha Shortiss (Suizerland), Vincent Beaufils (France), Suzanne Paucker (Germany), Juan Bustillos (Bolivia), and the Chilean artists Marcela Romagnoli, Francisco Gazitúa, Maya Estrada and Vicente Guajardo, who also acted as coordinator for the event.

Russian sculptor Dalmat Dalmatov with his work in progress

Under a large tent that sheltered the artists and their works from the elements, the sixteen sculptors who took part in this symposium received Travertine marble blocks of up to 2 square meters, brought directly from Calama, in the North of Chile, specially for this event. With this sole material in common, each artist developed an original, never-before-seen piece based on the same subject, which this year was focussed on integration.

Video (1:11")

https://youtu.be/rHD5_cERA0Y

Over the 14 days that spawned the event, each artist worked on his or her piece before the eyes of the visiting public, sometimes even making a pause in their work to receive their comments, explain their concepts and answer their questions. Guided tours were given for school children and secondary students, as a form to educate youngsters on the occupation of sculpture as well as on the work of these artists.

German sculptor Suzanne Paucker at work

(notice the miniature atop the finished piece)

Aside from receiving the marble, all artists had to their disposal eight qualified helpers to work the marble, an angular electrical polisher, compressed air, electricity provided by a generator, a crane, extension chords, head caps and work vests. Other than these, each artist had to bring in their own tools according to their technique and project to complete.

Work by Taiwanese sculptor Wen-Ching Tsai

This free event, which this year took place from October 17^th through 30^th, is an initiative of the Nuestros Parques group, seeking to integrate sculptures once more into the cemeteries, and rescue these spaces as public areas for the enjoyment of the entire community. The search for a modernist vision on all projects is no coincidence, since they also seek to expose the contemporary vision of the artists as a reflection and seal of our times.

Work by Mexican sculptor Carlos Monge

The finished works of this symposium will be taken to grace the Parque Santiago, Parque Manantial and Parque Canaan cemeteries, as well as Parque Forestal cemetery in the city of La Serena. To learn more about this initiative and previous symposiums, you can visit the Nuestros Parques’ official page at https://artenuestrosparques.cl

A unique and unforgettable opportunity for all those who enjoy art, as well as for those who have always wondered what goes behind the scenes of an artistic creation.