Mauro Agustín Cruz

Mar del Plata, Argentina, 1991

            Mauro Agustín Cruz is an artist whose work defies conventional classifications. His landscapes do not easily fit into labels, evoking a more abstract sense of belonging. Although he could be associated with Argentine gothic painting, Cruz does not limit himself to a specific style. His gaze is directed towards everyday places in Buenos Aires; he is an easel painter, but painting becomes an act of introspection and historical exploration.

            After a brief stint at the Faculty of Fine Arts in La Plata, in 2013 he returned to Mar del Plata and participated in the workshop "Everything is Sculpture" taught by Juan José Souto. Together with Nahuel Agüero, he founded "Le Putit Galerie," the first Young Art Gallery in Mar del Plata. While his work does not strictly reflect local landscapes, it combines autobiographical elements such as family memory, travels, legends, references from national painting, romanticism, symbolism, and the folk art of the world's peoples.

            For this artist, painting is an act of introspection, and his works are the result of an emotional synthesis, removed from the mundane conflicts of daily life. They result from his connection with nature, direct observation, imagination, and atavistic memory—those places inhabited and traversed by his ancestors. Thus, Cruz challenges the dichotomy between reality and imagination, creating a more plastic and mysterious third reason. His approach is less about mastering what he paints and more about disordering the conventional perceptions of the viewer.