NiteTalk: Agustina Woodgate Returns For Her Art Basel Encore

She was one of Wonderland’s Seven Wonders of Art Basel, White Hot burned over her being the first local to solo at ABMB’s Art Positions, and Miami New Times was so struck by her New Landscapes they sang its praises twice. She is Agustina Woodgate, an artist of sublime proportion, and you can catch her Encore at Spinello Projects this Friday night.

What primary feature do you see as absolutely essential for a truly beautiful world? Awareness.

How does that feature, er, feature in New Landscapes? It is an observation into what we already have not what we create. I rather call it Different Landscapes. It is definitely nothing new. You might think it’s a book of watercolors. The paper is soft, as felt. The dust is as color powders, bright pigment, earths.

Does wiping a country off a map imply we need to start a new in order to achieve any kinda perfection? No need to create anything new. And I think there is perfection in the imperfect.

Does what you make of the dust that’s left behind imply we should use the past to forge a better future? The past is part of our present. Times are happening all at once. The dust was quite thin, it covered all the studio. I had 40 containers with different color dusts representing the lands, the waters and the altitudes. I kept the Landscape.

When you do wipe a country off the map, is your first thought of the people, the place or its history? I think of it as if I was revealing the maps not wiping them off. Sometimes I would be listening to the music of the map I was sanding. There was definitely a lot of traveling going on, both in Place and Time.

Considering how folks cherish their nation, do you think of how much fuss they might make to see it being erased? Thinking and feeling are part of the equation. The pages are purposely not white. I sanded the surfaces right before the color started disappearing. Only names and lines are gone. Nations are still present. The index of the Atlas was left intact. Every country is still present, but this time in a different way.

Should folks find comfort in the fact that you’re really just doing it for their own good? I think it’s comforting to recognize the objects.

Agustina Woodgate New Landscapes - Encore opens Friday January 10th and runs through February 2nd. An Artist Talk Moderated by Sarah Aibel, Curator of the Sender Collection, takes place January 18th 7PM. Both at Spinello Projects 2930 NW 7th Avenue West of Wynwood.

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