Antonio Seguí: A Retrospective Exhibition 1966-2010

As it may appreciated in the show, the 1960´s witnessed the transfer of the artist’s interest from classical compositions - in which he echoed (and “parodied”) the Great Masters of painting - to the elaborate compositions that would define his best-known work. Thus, in El Cruce or Nuve, both dated 1969, Seguí introduces schematic cut-out wood figures, reminiscent of pieces of a children’s game, which he places against a generally neutral and plane background. In Pedazos de Cosas and Relief Quotidien (1971) dismembered figures, legs, heads, hats, hands… begin to expand over the surface of the plane, anticipating his more contemporary works. This contrast between non-naturalistic backgrounds and figurative characters, as well as the expansion of the latter throughout the whole painting - which denotes an interest in going beyond the picture’s frame - will be a recurring trait in the work of the Argentine artist.
A master of multiple techniques, Seguí is considered a painter of cities. In his works (as for example, Gritos y Susurros, Volver con la Frente Marchita or Amor por sí Mismo) Seguí focuses on the modern-day urban man in constant movement, creating, through the repetition and the amalgamation of small scenes, labyrinthine pieces that allude to the chaos characteristic of large cities. His paintings, reminiscent of graphic vignettes featuring a fundamental character, develops a complex narrative - in which we participate only partially.
His unmistakable style, his utilization of color and occasionally, of text, render his work a source of endless inspiration for young generations of comic and Manga artists.