Ulises Beisso
My Private World
08/22—11/10/25
Opening: Thursday, August 21 at 7:00 pm
Level 1
My Private World is the first institutional exhibition of Ulises Beisso outside his home country. Born in Montevideo, Uruguay (1958–1996), in his short career he produced more than three hundred works, seeking to subvert the established order through figuration. The importance of his legacy today lies in his exploration of dissidence and diversity in identity terms within the cultural context of the Río de la Plata in the 1980s and early 1990s.
Beisso combined his professional activities as a psychologist, illustrator, and graphic designer for Cuadernos de Marcha—a monthly monographic publication addressing topics such as philosophy, history, literature, politics, and international relations—with a vibrant artistic production that draws on multiple references to classical art, mythology, applied arts, and illustration. After his death in 1996, his work was preserved by his mother and his partner. Twenty-five years later, it was gathered, catalogued, and documented through an extensive process of research and restoration.
The exhibition at Malba aims to introduce audiences to the work of this artist, who was deeply cherished by his close circle in Montevideo but remains relatively unknown to the broader art public. Two main moments of his career are addressed to highlight the expressive richness of his work. On one hand, his fantastical worlds—also referred to by the artist himself as Dorian Rituals—are presented, where sexuality and imagination converge with classical mythological references and a figurative style full of color and expressiveness. On the other hand, the exhibition features Images of the (My) Hidden, a series in which the artist reveals a mature artistic voice and a darkness reflective of the end of his life, where criticism of a society that discriminated against him for his homosexuality and the progression of his illness led him to create a body of work as challenging as it is visually powerful and inspiring.
The title of the exhibition, My Private World, was taken from a sketchbook containing works and notes that Beisso left as part of his artistic legacy. Beyond the obvious connotations of an extremely personal and private body of work, the title also alludes to the Spanish translation of the film My Own Private Idaho (1991) by Gus Van Sant, a landmark of early 1990s queer culture that was deeply meaningful to Ulises Beisso himself.
This exhibition is a collaboration between Malba and the Institute for Studies on Latin American Art (ISLAA).
Curator: Martín Craciun.
Ulises Beisso Quijano
Montevideo, Uruguay, 1958–1996
Uruguayan visual artist from a family with a rich cultural heritage. He was the grandson of Carlos Quijano, founder of the influential Uruguayan weekly Marcha. From an early age, he showed artistic inclinations that led him to train in various studios. Between 1973 and 1975, he studied in the workshop of José Luis Montes, considered the last master of the Torres García workshop. Later, in 1976, he continued his training with Jorge Damiani. Between 1977 and 1979, he lived in Mexico, where he attended the La Esmeralda Academy, taking workshops in drawing, painting, and sculpture. Upon returning to Uruguay, between 1979 and 1983, he studied in Guillermo Fernández’s workshop. At the same time, he earned a degree in psychology at the Institute of Philosophy, Sciences and Letters, now the Catholic University of Uruguay. He participated in salons and awards, and held a solo exhibition at the Montevideo Cabildo just months before his passing. His artistic legacy includes paintings, assemblages, and sculptures. He also designed furniture and objects.
After his death, two retrospective exhibitions of Beisso’s work were held in Uruguay. In 2003, a brief show was presented at the Dodecá Cultural Center. In 2022, the Subte Exhibition Center in Montevideo presented Rara Avis, an anthological exhibition curated by Pablo León de La Barra that explored his artistic legacy and relevance in the Montevideo cultural context of the 1980s and 1990s.
Images: Ulises Beisso. Juggling During Angelic Pursuit (1996) and Homosexual / Only Human Parts (1992) Courtesy of Institute for Studies on Latin American Art (ISLAA), New York.
Catalogue
On the occasion of the exhibition, Malba will publish a catalogue co-edited with The Institute for Studies on Latin American Art (ISLAA), which currently preserves the Ulises Beisso Archive. The publication includes an essay by curator Martín Craciun, which traces the artist’s career and the exhibition itself, and a specially commissioned text by Uruguayan visual artist and writer Magela Ferrero, highlighting the contrast between Beisso’s work and the context of its production in Montevideo during the 1980s and 1990s. The catalogue reproduces over 100 of Beisso’s works—including drawings, paintings, and objects—and also includes the “Dorian Manifesto,” a handwritten text by the artist from the Estate Ulises Beisso, published here for the first time. A special section is devoted to a selection of documents from the Ulises Beisso Archive – ISLAA, introduced by a text by Agustín Díez-Fischer, Senior Manager of Research and Archives at the institution. This selection includes covers of the magazine Cuadernos de Marcha illustrated by Beisso, sketches and instructions from his Dorian Image Factory, and photographs from his personal archive. The book will be available in a bilingual edition (printed in Spanish-English and digitally in English-Spanish).