Ideali Bianco

This sculpture in Garfagnana marble was offered to Prince Rainier III on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of his reign in 2001.
Both massive and delicate, this work encourages reflection on the intervention of the spiritual in daily life. It is intended to channel spiritual energies into the spaces they occupy and to invite contemplation of the divine. For each sculpture, Pablo Atchugarry personally selects an appropriate block and actively participates in its carving, with minimal assistance from assistants. He is often compared to Michelangelo for his great devotion to and direct carving of the material - as opposed to the studio practices of many of his contemporaries. There is no ideal vantage point from which to view the work. The viewer is expected to look at it as a whole and contemplate how all the parts of the sculpture work together. Manipulating sinuous curves, accordion-like folds, ovoid openings, and typically vertical alignment, the sculptor creates forms highly evocative of plants, trees, crashing waves, still life, and human figures. His sculptures are both figurative and abstract.

Pablo Atchugarry is a Uruguayan painter and sculptor, born in 1954 in Montevideo. From childhood, encouraged by his father, an art lover and former student of the constructivist artist Joaquin Torres Garcia, he showed an interest and aptitude for painting. His first personal exhibitions took place in South America (Montevideo in 1972 and Buenos Aires in 1974) and in 1977 he undertook a study trip to Europe, which took him to Spain, France and Italy.
In 1979, he began sculpting stone and marble in Paris and Carrara. In 1982, he moved to Lecco in Lombardy where he now lives and works, continuing to sculpt white marble from Carrara, pink marble from Portugal, grey marble from Bardiglio, black marble from Belgium. In 1987, he organized his first personal exhibition of sculptures in Milan. His poetic sculptural style has allowed Pablo Atchugarry to express himself through monumental works, which are now located in various public spaces in Europe and Latin America.
In 2007 he opened the Fundación Pablo Atchugarry in Punta de l'Este in southern Uruguay. This institution aims to stimulate the arts and create a meeting place for artists of all disciplines in an ideal place combining nature and art where an international park of monumental sculptures is located.