Chilean artist wins top sculpture prize in Argentina after dog bite

Mauricio Guajardo, a Chilean artist, claimed the top prize at the International Sculpture Biennial in Chaco, Argentina, with his striking marble creation, "Cubo etéreo." The week-long outdoor sculpting event culminated in a public celebration, including a drone show and music, highlighting the community's engagement with the arts.

Guajardo's winning piece, a solid marble cube transformed into a light, linear structure, is designed for public interaction. "It interests me a lot to leave that possibility of inhabiting the piece, of interacting with it," Guajardo explained. He aims for his art to be accessible, allowing people to enter, exit, and even use it as a bench, emphasizing that public art like sculpture and murals are "meant to be inhabited, to participate with them."

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It interests me a lot to leave that possibility of inhabiting the piece, of interacting with it.

The biennial, now in its 38th year and organized by the Urunday Foundation, selected ten artists from 439 applicants across 70 countries. All ten resulting works will become part of Chaco's public art heritage, bringing the city's collection to 731 sculptures. Guajardo's journey to victory was not without incident; he was bitten by a dog upon arriving in Resistencia, adding a memorable anecdote to his artistic triumph.

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I believe that sculpture and muralism are per se public art. They have other dimensions, they are for inhabiting them, for participating with them.