Gaspar Liebedinsky:

Productos Caseros

MCA Denver presented Gaspar Liebedinsky: Productos Caseros, which consisted of two installations that took urban architecture as their subjects and explored the myriad ways that such structures determine the behavior of those inhabiting them. The two-screen projection Productos Caseros (Boquete-Production) documents the transformation of a Buenos Aires prison that operated from 1979 to 2000. Originally slated to house criminals for short-term periods while their cases wound through the criminal justice system, the prison ultimately became the site where prisoners served their full terms. On June 6th, 1984, the inmates staged a violent rebellion, attacking the architecture and ultimately transforming it into a space that brought natural light and fresh air into the building. They converted it into a structure that brought the outside city inside through holes made by banging fire extinguishers against the wall. Libedinsky continues to bridge this distance between the prison and the city with his video. In this work these holes, fragments of the now-destroyed prison, frame different parts of Buenos Aires. Ironically, the preserved “ruin” of this historic site becomes a vehicle for reflecting on the future of its urban environment.

Gaspar Libedinsky was born in 1976 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he currently lives and works. Trained at the Architectural Association, London, he has worked for OMA/Rem Koolhaas, Rotterdam and for Diller Scofidio + Renfro, New York as lead designer of Manhattan's High Line park. He has been awarded numerous awards and scholarships including an art residency at MacDowell Colony, New Hampshire in 2010 and the Beca Kuitca/UTDT in 2010-11 to participate in Argentina's most prestigious arts program.