Argentina. The "Factory of Experiences," as the Konex Cultural City is known in the artistic environment, premieres a mural by Mabel Vicentef in its open courtyard. This creation is part of AkzoNobel's global program "Come to Color", which seeks to demonstrate the transformative power of color.
And again Abasto Barrio Cultural becomes the scene of this union of wills to bring to the neighbors sensations that resignify.
"The kick-off was the idea of making a box, because whenever I enter Konex I imagine a box where many things happen, in the course of the sketches the box became suitcases. Each suitcase represents different things; Some open, others close. Stages begin and end. In the background the birds represent everything that comes and goes, my works always have a part inspired by nature, "said Mabel Vicentef about her work.
"I try not to give so much meaning closed in advance to my creations because I think the contribution that the viewer makes by observing the work and giving it another meaning is very important, and generating their own stories according to the interpretation that each one wants to give it, which sometimes are much better than those thought by the artist," added Vicentef.
Color has a transforming power in people's lives and that is why AkzoNobel, through its Alba brand, accompanies this proposal that shows how color, culture and art can transform a community.
"From AkzoNobel, within the framework of our global program Come to Color, we bring to life with our colors a new mural by Mabel Vicentef de la Ciudad. And nothing less than in a reference space of the rich cultural activity of the country, the Konex, "said Fernando Domingues, general director of Decorative Paintings of AkzoNobel for Southern Cone.
And he added "This mural adds to the more than 600 linear meters in the largest floor artwork in Buenos Aires, and the 1500 m2 of murals created by a collective of talented women artists in Abasto Barrio Cultural (program of the Ministry of Culture of the City of Buenos Aires), made with neighborhood collaboration and together with Alba Pinturas".
"We chose Mabel because her work challenges us whenever we see her, her walls are mostly inhabited by women painted realistically, with genuine looks and gestures, but we are also crossed by the worlds she creates full of fantasy, always with a strong presence of nature. Modern and ancestral dyes can coexist in his murals," said Noel Yolis, Konex Programming Manager.
With its special architecture, the Konex building was built in the 1920s and used as a factory and oil depot until 1992. Years later it was acquired in order to create the Konex Cultural City and turn it into a benchmark for the country's cultural activity.
Estudio Clorindo Testa y Asociados was commissioned to transform the old oil mill into an original space while keeping intact the architectural details of the time.
Today, the complex occupies a large part of the surface of the old property with a refunctionalization of its facilities where all kinds of artistic expressions coexist and interrelate with the common objective of providing cultural and artistic enrichment to the community. Per year 300,000 people experience Konex Cultural City through its varied agenda.
