Iván Argote: The Burden of The Invisible. SCAD Museum of Art

In The Burden of the Invisible, Iván Argote presents critical yet playful works that challenge collective memories and the narrow, dominant histories commonly presented in public spaces. Through sculpture, film, painting, and photography, the artist reimagines historical monuments in Savannah and worldwide, reflecting on their purpose and proposing alternate realities. Argote’s new installation, Señores, creates an uncanny scene, grouping archetypal statues in decay and overgrown with various plants. His film Levitate and recent series of concrete paintings also contend with monuments’ supposed permanence and militaristic iconography, revealing how notions of power and domination are present in our history and daily lives. By representing real sites of commemoration, albeit fictitiously and satirically, Argote advocates for decentralized, constantly evolving public spaces that acknowledge other narratives. Argote develops strategies based on tenderness, affection, and humor, through which he generates critical approaches to dominant historical narratives and proposes new symbolic and political uses of public space.
The Burden of the Invisible is organized by SCAD Museum of Art assistant curator Haley Clouser and curator Ben Tollefson and presented as part of SCAD deFINE ART 2024.