Columbian born artist Iván Argote (b.1983) is probably best known for filming himself while spray-painting over a work by Dutch painter Piet Mondrian. The humorous and provocative young artist characteristically deals with social, political, and art historical issues through varied media like video, photography, sculpture and painting. With exceptional wit and flippancy, Argote explores and challenges socially accepted norms. He fictionalises the everyday and therewith allows viewers to see their reality in a new light that relativises convention.
Argote originally studied graphic design at university in Columbia when he first discovered art for himself. "I started to be interested in art because I saw that it was a field in which you can think about things in an independent way. Art is a large field of reflection about how we understand the world." Whether Argote records strangers in an elevator singing "Happy Birthday" for him, or publishes a virtual clock where "time is money" (www.thetimeismoney.com) - he never fails to amuse. And yet, the strength of his practice lies in the incredibly thought-through and complicated reflexivity, which dictates all his pranks.
Argote graduated from the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris in 2009 and has been in numerous exhibitions since, including at the Palais de Tokyo, Paris, (2012); at CA2M Madrid, (2012); and at the Joan Miro Foundation, Barcelona, (2011). He lives and works in Paris and New York.
