Gastón Ugalde Mamani

Place: La Paz

Born: 1944

Death: 2023

Biography:

Gastón Ugalde, also known as Gastón Ugalde Mamani, was born in La Paz, Bolivia in 1944 and died in 2023. He is considered the father of contemporary Bolivian art and was the recipient of the prestigious Konex Award in 2002 along with Oscar Niemeyer. Ugalde was named 'the most important living Bolivian artist' by the Konex Foundation in Argentina and was also referred to as the 'Andean Warhol' by art critics. He was known as 'the enfant terrible' of the Bolivian Art Scene. Ugalde was Bolivia’s best-known contemporary artist, known for his subversive and diverse artwork spanning a half-century career. He was a video-art pioneer in Latin America and worked in performance, painting, sculpture, installation, land-art, photography, and printmaking. He had over 90 solo shows and over 100 collective exhibitions all over the world. He represented his home country at important biennales such as Venice (2009, 2001), São Paulo (1978, 1981, 1985), Paris (1982), Havana (1986, 1999), Bienal do Mercosul (1997, 2015), and Trienal de Chile (2009).