Elizabeth Aro (born 1961) is an Argentine interdisciplinary artist from Buenos Aires. She is known for large-scale site-specific installations that primarily use fabric, as well as photographs, drawings, and videos. Her work explores themes of femininity, memory, migration, identity, nature's vulnerability, and the perception of space.
Biography
Aro was born in 1961 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She studied at the National School of Fine Arts Prilidiano Pueyrredón and at the Universidad Nacional de las Artes (UNA), where she majored in art history. She lived in Madrid from 1990 to 2005 and currently resides in Milan, Italy.
In 1991, she was the youngest artist featured in the exhibition "La Escuela del Sur, el taller de Torres García y su legado" at the Museo Reina Sofía. In 2004, she became the first Argentine woman to hold a solo exhibition at that museum.
Artistic Practice
Aro uses fabric—including velvet, brocade, felt, and cotton—to create installations that alter the viewer's perception of space. She also works with photography, drawing, video, sculpture, engraving, and painting. Her use of sewing as an expressive medium is described as a reclamation of labor traditionally associated with women.
Many of her works relate to the experience of migration and how individuals define home or where they are from. She has stated that breaking gender stereotypes is an important aspect of her work.
Selected Artworks
- Danza Nocturna (2022) — An installation combining an old parachute with leaves made of black and gray jacquard velvet, addressing climate change and nature's resilience.
- Santa Sangre (2015) — Brocade fabric shaped to appear as reddish-brown roots emerging from a door, giving the impression of nature overtaking an indoor space.
- Mundo (2016) — A large white sphere made of layered felt, representing the world falling apart.
- Ulivo (2016) — A white tree-shaped sculpture made of brocade and cotton, symbolizing life and the circle of life.
- Estudio de Nubes (2014–2015) — Fifty-six pencil drawings of clouds, used to explore time and memory.
- Henry Clew's Cast (2016) — Brocade fabric added to an existing sculpture by Henry Clew, altering its narrative.
Selected Exhibitions
Aro has exhibited extensively internationally. Solo exhibitions include shows at the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía (Madrid, 2004), Moritzkirche (Augsburg, Germany, 2015), Fondazione Filatoio (Caraglio, Italy, 2018), and Chateau La Napoule (Cannes, France, 2019). Group exhibitions include the Mori Museum (Tokyo, 2006), the Biennale Internationale (Casablanca, 2016), and the Bronx Museum of Arts (New York, 1988, 1991).
Collections
Her work is held in the Galleria Arte Moderna Torino, the Museum of Contemporary Art of Rosario, and the Museum of Modern Art of Buenos Aires.
References
- Wikipedia contributors. "Elizabeth Aro." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.
- Official website: www.elizabetharo.com
- Puerto, Cecilia (1996). Latin American Woman Artists, Kahlo and Look Who Else. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 0-313-28934-4.
- Olivares, Rosa (2004). Elizabeth Aro. Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía. ISBN 84-8026-243-5.
