Mariela Scafati

“My works are based on the ideas and questions that the painting triggers,” declares Mariela Scafati (Bahía Blanca, Argentina, 1973). In this way, this artist starts a process of exploration and manipulation that transforms her works “into something more that paintings hanging on a wall.” After becoming one of the most international Latin-American artists, her work is present in the collections of such prestigious museums as the New National Gallery in Berlin, the Guggenheim Museum in New York, the Museo Rufino Tamayo in Mexico City, or the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw, among others. Also in Madrid—specifically in the Museo Reina Sofía—, a city that she now returns to to take part in ARCOmadrid 2025, the art fair sponsored by Iberia, with one of her most iconic pieces, Windows, within the Profiles | Latin-American Art section. This is not her only event in Spain, since she is currently doing a residency at Collegium, a contemporary art centre located in Arévalo (Ávila), where she speaks to us from.

In biographies, people refer to you as a “queer painter and silk-screen printer,” but your work seems to transcend these fields. How would you define yourself?
As a queer silk-screen printer, painter, and teacher, I would add. I’m part of a collective called Serigrafistas Queer [queer silk-screen printers] and this is part of my artistic self. Commitment is something all artists have. On occasion I’ve defined myself as elusive; this evasiveness has to do with the fact that indeed, I am a painter, but I also do things that stray from painting. I explore through painting, with the tools it provides me, but I often end up making objects or installations.

As an artist, where does Mariela Scafati look towards? What inspires her?
I’m inspired by art and artists because they help me think about the kind of life I want. And I mean a common lifestyle, in a broad sense. In a way, artists spend all their time thinking about different ways of life and their works are tests, like little laboratories that can be used to practice, to try. Art can emerge in the weirdest ways, from the most unintended places, and I love to explore that.

“Art can emerge in the weirdest ways, from the most unintended places, and I love to explore that”

Your work questions painting. Is asking yourself questions the best starting point when creating?
Yes, asking myself questions helps me to think about how to approach the next paintings and how to push their boundaries, how to bring painting out of itself and of the place it’s expected. The public has a predetermined attitude towards how they see paintings and I like to play with that. During my process, I manipulate paintings as if they were objects and they transform into something more than a painting hanging on a wall.

‘El escurridizo inexplicable’, 2024, Mariela Scafati. © Isla Flotante

‘El violeta ya no nos separa’, 2006, Mariela Scafati. © Isla Flotante

‘Silla’, 2005, Mariela Scafati. © Isla Flotante

'La mostra descamisada', 2023, Mariela Scafati © Travesía Cuatro

'Kamishibai', Mariela Scafati, 2025. © Travesía Cuatro

'Horizonte', 2022, Mariela Scafati. © Travesía Cuatro

Previous Next

You know your way around museums, galleries, and art fairs, but also the street. Which space do you feel most comfortable in?
Even though I distinguish between those spaces, I don’t experience them separately. In fact, I’m constantly moving in and out of them. I don’t feel limited in museums, galleries, or fairs because I think that each space has its own power to communicate and share with people. They are different ways of showing the work or thoughts of an artist. Without a doubt, street work is different, with another kind of organisation and other types of materials.

You’ve been selected to take part in the ‘Profiles | Latin-American Art’ section at ARCOmadrid. What are you going to exhibit?
The main piece is called Windows. They are a series of hand-painted posters with phrases taken from dialogues I had in 2011 with a friend who was in Spain and was telling me what was happening on the streets during the 15-M anti-austerity movement. I started to edit that conversation and short poems started to appear related to a certain political imagination that inspired me a lot. It’s an iconic piece for me because it combines my experience on the streets with my interest in people organising themselves, building assemblies, and generating new ideas.

“The connection we have between Spain and Latin America is real and there’s a constant exchange. It’s important for our art to have its own space at ARCOmadrid”

ARCOmadrid has been reinforcing its ties with Latin-American art for years. How important are those connecting vessels between Spain and Latin America?
Extremely important. The connection we have is real and there’s a constant exchange. Every time I come to Spain, I feel at ease... It must be because we have a lot in common, right? It’s important for our art to have its own space at ARCOmadrid. I’m interested in the point of view of José Esparza [the section curator] because he wants to show what we Latin-American artists are doing by moving away from stereotypes and platitudes. Now I’m in Arévalo with Bárbara Sánchez-Kane [the Mexican artist], whom I admire a lot and who will also take part. I’m really grateful to be part of this section.

Talent is one of the reasons why you've come to ARCOmadrid, but what does that word mean to you?
Two days ago, I was explaining to my son what talent is, and I think I did quite well (laughs). He’s at that difficult question stage. [In that moment, we hear a childlike “I am René,” which Mariela answers with a singsong “You are René, yes; I know.” Then she carries on]. That great response that I told my son isn’t going to come to me now, but I can say when I detect that someone is talented: when they are able to connect worlds.

Mariela Scafati brins one of her most iconic pieces to ARCOmadrid 2025: ‘Windows’. © Isla Flotante

Your works are admired in cities around the world; what is it about your art that makes it understood wherever it goes?
I’m not sure... Although I have a hunch and that is that questions about painting are universal. That would be a starting point. I’ve found people to talk to about painting in all the countries I’ve been to. Painting transcends local boundaries. For me, the fact that painting appeals to emotions, to moods, is also related. In my case I’d add colour because it establishes an immediate means of communication.

Now you’re in the middle of your residence at Collegium. What does your work there consist of?
I want to explore, think about another kind of relationship between furniture and painting. It’s something I started in 2015 and then didn’t develop. Today I’ve been collecting some small pieces of furniture and I’m excited to start working with them. It goes in line with manipulating paintings, with the possibility of establishing new dialogues and seeing what happens. I’ll also use hemp rope that I’ll buy in Callosa de Segura (Alicante), which is where the artisans are. I want to make the most of this trip to use local materials from Spain.