Before celebrating 30 years as a collector and five of the foundation that bears his name, Amaedo loves Find out a dialogue with this newspaper. Expert in weaving networks that support art, its enthusiasm is contagious: it provides a solid support to artists, cultural agents and institutions; Finance scholarships, workshops, conferences, exhibitions and has a long career as an artist. In the “Amalita” collection, the Puerto Madero Museum presented more than 50 exhibitions, including the retrospectives of Marcelo Pombo, Omar Schiliro and Romulo Macció. In 2024 they presented the sample of Chiachio and Giannoneperhaps the most celebrated of the year.
Journalist: What is the trend in your collection?
Amaedo loves: I started my collection with a gift from my brother, Alejandro Bengolea, which I received when I was 19 years old. It is an abstract painting by Gachi Hasper, an artist who admires and continues to collect. Soon I started acquiring my first works by Fernanda Laguna and Marcelo Pombo. They are fundamental artists in my collection that today brings together more than 700 works and includes central pieces of Argentine art of the twentieth century, focusing on the abstraction of the ’40s, the pop art of the 60s and the scene of the Ricardo Rojas Cultural Center of the late 80s. I am also a passionate collector of contemporary art. I am very interested in incorporating the works that artists are doing right now. In recent years my collection has expanded to Latin American art, so I find myself thinking of conceptual dialogues and links among artists from all over the region. It is fascinating!
Q.: His grandmother, Amalia Fortabat, was a great collector. What left him as an inheritance, in addition to the museum?
AA: As a collector, my grandmother left me countless memories and learning. He traveled a lot with her and in each city we always visited the museums. Upon arrival, she already knew what samples she wanted to see because before traveling she investigated. He also had a unique instinct to know in front of what works we had to stop and pay more attention. An image that I keep as a photograph is that of the art catalogs scattered on their bed. On weekends we used to see them together and she, very attentive to the details, taught me to pay attention to the thickness of the paper. My grandmother had a sense of solidarity with the great neighbor and great certainty about the importance of creating and supporting institutions. It was very influential for me.
Q.: What is the story of his grandmother’s great painting that is in his collection today?
AA: Odilon Redon’s work is composed of five panels, it is very close and loved by all of us. He always wrapped the family table, both in my grandmother’s house and now in mine. Although it does not seem, it is a work of more than 120 years, which in the sixties was in the MoMA and in the nineties in the Art Institute of Chicago. It has an impressive international tour. Even after so many years of living with her, that symbolist landscape full of flowers continues to dazzle.
Q.: In the environment they appreciate their ability to analyze some periods of art.
AA: Personally, the 1990s are central, it was when I started going to exhibitions on my own, to visit artists workshops and to generate friendships that I keep until today. This interest and having lived that scene is reflected in my collection, where in addition to gathering works I spend the incorporation of file and documentation material. It seems very important to contextualize art, and for that the catalogs, letters and photos that help recreate such an effervescent era are fundamental. There are periods in which art and life maintain an inseparable link, where they nourish and transform each other. In the sixties, artists such as Delia Cancela, Edgardo Giménez and Marta Minujín revolutionized not only art languages with experiences such as Happenings, but also other areas of everyday life, such as design, architecture and fashion.
Q.: Do you think Argentine art occupies the place it deserves in the international circuit?
Aa: When I am going to see samples, the creativity and the exceptional level of the works continue to impress me. I feel a deep admiration for our artists. They have a great resilience in the face of a context that, on many occasions, has been difficult. I have the conviction that Argentine art deserves a prominent place in the global scene and for this reason I involve and integrate the committees of great impact institutions, such as MoMA and Pompidou. They are spaces that generate very valuable institutional dialogues and favor exchange with collector colleagues. However, for me, the essential when it comes to supporting our artistic scene, is to know it in depth and be close to its development.
Q.: Does the purchase made by Pompidou of the painting of Santiago García Sáenz, is related to the sample of the fortabat?
Aa.: There is no direct relationship. However, it should be noted that Amalita Collection was the first museum to make a retrospective of Santiago García Saenz, accompanied by a catalog with especially commissioned research texts. In institutions such as Pompidou, acquisitions are proposed by the curatorial team and decisions are taken in committees where all members debate. They are collective processes and the entrance to the collection is the result of a consensus. In that sense, the samples and catalogs that value the work of an artist can have a great impact on their international recognition.
Q.: Today, Marta Minujín celebrates sharing a Metropolitan room in New York with Jackson Pollock and March Rothko. What role does Argentine art play in dialogue with global stories?
Aa.: They are dialogues to celebrate! Without a doubt, these exchanges renew our own gaze on how we understand local art. We are at a time to review the great stories and scenes connection. In the case of Marta Minujín, for me it was a pride to support from the AMA Mieed Foundation her anthological samples in the Jewish Museum in New York, and in Copenhagen Contemporary.
Q.: How does Argentine art disseminate?
AA: We support it very actively and in different ways, it seems to me that it has greater impact. In addition to accompanying samples with Argentine representation in the world, we have the FAARA initiative connects and, through alliances with international residences, artists from our country can travel and work in other contexts. Now the Santecofino Ulises Mazzuca is in New York. Another concrete action is to invite curators and art professionals to know the local scene.
Q.: What role do Faara and scholarships occupy within the Foundation?
Aa: I would tell you that the Faara residence is the spine. And I am very satisfied to have had first level jurors and talented artists from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Dominican Republic, Peru, Mexico, among other countries. We had more than 4000 project applications throughout Latin America, a figure that demonstrates the importance of this type of support. The scholarships allow us to add key voices, support art and social commitment projects and publications that impact and have an impact on other scenes throughout the region.
Source: Ambito
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
