Photo – courtesy of Artivistas ©
Artivistas, a socially committed Latin American art gallery located in the heart of Paris, is proud to present “A Campo Traviesa,” an exhibition dedicated to the work of contemporary Argentinian artist Martín Reyna, from December 5, 2024, to February 2, 2025.
The opening reception will take place on Tuesday, December 5, at 19:00, at the gallery (35 rue Blanche, 9th arrondissement), in the presence of the artist and the exhibition curator, Raphaël Ocampo. Martín Reyna, an Argentinian artist based between Paris and Buenos Aires, draws inspiration from the interplay between natural elements and artistic expression. Working across diverse locations, his creative process transforms sensory impressions into evocative paintings and drawings.
His work engages deeply with the atmospheric and visual conditions of his surroundings: intense light, irregular terrain, vegetation, and wind movement. While part of his creative practice takes place outdoors, Reyna does not aim to replicate the landscapes he observes. Instead, his use of materials such as watercolours, inks, and water-based paints on paper extends the intimate practice of sketching into bold, larger-scale explorations. As art historian Philippe Cyroulnik explains, “The position he has chosen in the field of art helps us understand how his painting — through colour, form, and light — invokes or produces a landscape; but also withdraws from it, to confront painting itself.”
The exhibition “A Campo Traviesa” takes viewers on a journey through abstraction, capturing landscapes that exist as much in the imagination as in reality. The works echo the free abstraction of artists like Tal Coat and Howard Hodgkin, blending a deeply personal vision with broader, symbolic themes.
One highlight of the exhibition is a series of oil paintings exploring concepts such as:
Extreme sunlight
Landscape as a mirror of the human soul (inspired by Philipp Otto Runge)
Symbolism and the enduring human connection to nature
In addition, the exhibition includes drawings on paper from Reyna’s “travel notebook,” inspired by the vast, untamed landscapes of Patagonia, where weather and light leave their unique mark on his compositions.
