Gastón Ugalde´s work navigates the space of contemporary art mixing modern methods with references and indigenous materials. In his work, the worlds of yesterday and the future coexist in harmony. Bolivian landscapes, the Andes, the Amazon and the valleys, are his inspiration, “for me the landscape is everything, it invades it all and I want to poses it.” His work is multidisciplinary and expands over fifty years and different media covering performance, painting, sculpture, installation, land-art, photography and printmaking.

In the art scene, Gaston Ugalde is Bolivia´s most famous artist referred as the Andean Warhol by many critics with work that ranges from classic paintings that decorate the presidential palace to edgy performance and land art. His work has been exhibited at different biennales like Venice, Sao Paulo, Paris, and Habana, among others. He has received numerous awards like the 2002 Mercosur Konex Award , has had over 90 solo shows and hundreds of collective exhibitions. Ugalde´s nature is that of an explorer full of curiosity and crazy ideas, a true “enfant terrible” with half a century of adventures where video places and important role as he is considered a video-art pioneer in Latin America.

Textiles are one of his main subjects and objects. “I was born and I live with textiles”, he affirms, “I am obsessed with the beauty of their colors and textures and how each thread weaves political and anthropological concepts.” Gaston has been collecting pullus or blankets for fifty years along with fragments and scraps that he uses for his sculptures, collages, performances, and photography. Sadly, it is becoming increasingly difficult to find authentic textiles as artisans are selling their last pieces and preferring to use Chinese blankets.

Ugalde´s legacy is rooted in local issues but his message is universal. History, anthropology, geography and sociology interact in his evolving creative work to raise questions and pose dilemmas that only art has the power to convey beautifully.