Marcia Schvartz

Place: Buenos Aires

Born: 1955

Biography:

Marcia Schvartz is an Argentinian painter, illustrator and ceramic artist primarily known for her feminist figurative paintings. She was born on March 24, 1955, in Buenos Aires to progressive parents. Her mother, Hebe Clementi, was a historian and professor who wrote extensively about indigenous culture and critiqued chattel slavery. Her father, Gregorio Schvartz, owned a notable bookstore that lent books to those who could not afford to buy them. Schvartz began studying art at the Escuela de Bellas Artes Manuel Belgrano in 1970 and was introduced to Aída Carballo, who became an influential mentor and teacher in her early life. She left the Escuela de Bellas Artes Manuel Belgrano before graduating and was a member of the Peronist Youth movement in the 1970s. In 1976, after the overthrow of Isabel Perón in a coup, Schvartz self-exiled to Spain due to civil unrest. She returned to Argentina in 1983. Schvartz's work is heavily influenced by the disappearances during the aftermath of the coup of Isabel Perón and by the tragedies of the AIDS crisis. She has received recognition and has shown her work around the world. Today, she teaches and paints in Buenos Aires.