Florencia Echeverría is a visual artist and sculptor from Rosario, Argentina.

She travelled to Awasi Iguazu, our 14-villa Relais & Chateaux hotel, as part of our ongoing Awasi Artist Immersion programme.

Awasi Artist Immersion

“My source of inspiration is nature and its various organic forms,” says Florencia whose studio is located on the banks of the Paraná River in the city of Rosario.

“I foster my imagination by sailing across its waters, exploring its beaches and the islands, which hide lagoons and streams that harbor a variety of plant and animal species that later become the pivots for my artistic production.”

Wandering between realism and fantasy

 

For many years Florencia dreamed of immersing herself in the Misiones Atlantic Rainforest, “so as to feel a part of it”.

She wanted to observe the native species of the Province of Misiones and later represent them in her artwork.

“However,” she emphasises, “not as botanical representations as my pieces wander between realism and fantasy.”

Intricate objects filled with details

“I shape my sculptures through the imaginative creation of organic forms,” explains Florencia, “where each one naturally fits with the other, creating intricate objects filled with details that invite observation.”

However, Florencia wasn’t always an artist. She graduated in law in 1997 from the National University of Rosario.

It wasn’t until ten years later that she decided to dedicate herself exclusively to art, specifically painting.

In 2014, Florencia took drawing classes with the artist Emilio Torti which led her to a Training Program for Contemporary Artists (PAC) at the Gabelich Contemporáneo Art Gallery alongside the Gachi Prieto Gallery.

Over the past decade she has participated in numerous solo and group exhibitions both in Argentina and abroad, including two occasions in Miami, USA, during Art Basel week.

The road to Awasi

The transition from being a lawyer to becoming an artist arose from a friend’s invitation to participate in an art workshop.

Florencia loved it, and since then, never looked back.

She received a positive response to her artwork, and people quickly began to appreciate and buy her art.

In constant evolution

The artist says that as a child, she used to paint at home and enjoyed doing crafts, but she never thought of it as an activity she would do for a living.

In 2020, as a result of the lockdown, Florencia became interested in her daughter’s cold porcelain and started creating with that material.

The development of her work naturally emerged from the situation she found herself in.

Florencia collects plastic from the Paraná River and uses household or donated waste as the structure for her works, some of which include ‘bottles of love’ (plastic bottles filled with plastic waste).

The artist sees this act as her contribution to addressing pollution and a form of reuse waste. 

Inspiration in Iguazu

“My main source of inspiration undoubtedly were the walks along the trails that took me deep into the rainforest,” says Florencia, “allowing me to observe the variety of leaves, butterflies, insects, shades of green, as well as sense its aromas and listen to its sounds.”

“I felt a strong connection to the environment and a deep admiration for the communities living within it, all in total harmony and respect with the space they inhabit.”

“The Awasi Artist Immersion seems to me a magnificent idea,” says Florencia. “As artists, it can be challenging for us to move away from our studios, and this immersive experience with nature, artisans, Guarani communities is extremely enriching.”

She was particularly moved by the Awasi commitment to environmental preservation.

“Awasi communicates and brings awareness to the irreplaceable damage involved in deforestation, which motivates me to make this issue visible in my works.”

A lasting impact 

Florencia was inspired by the “spectrum of possibilities” afforded by the clay collected from the jungle floor.

“The fact that I experimented with the red soil of Misiones, which has a different texture and color, allowed me to achieve different results,” she says. “I was inspired in a very interesting way by the tours through the Mata Atlântica, which reignited my desire to paint jungle landscapes again.”

Watch this space… 

Florencia Echeverría created several artworks (paintings and sculptures) inspired by her Awasi Artist Immersion to hold a solo-exhibition at Ungallery located in the famous neighbourhood of La Boca in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The opening will be on Staurday, July 13th, from 12.00 to 6.00pm at Ministro Brin 1335.