Diary
From Buenos Aires: Guillermo Kuitca
A week of house plans, salsa and soap
Argentine artist Guillermo Kuitca takes us inside his apartment and shares some of his experiences of living and working at home in preceding days. Kuitca's work has long been informed by the worlds of architecture, music, theater and cartography, and his most recent drawings take the form of architectural plans for domestic spaces.
Where is home for you and what are your indoor plans? My home is in the Belgrano R neighborhood in Buenos Aires. I made all sorts of plans for staying at home but it has been challenging to follow and stay focused this week. Argentina is now in total quarantine and we are trying to organize and prepare ourselves as best possible for the coming days at home. I am here with my partner Javier.
Since being at home have you found any new activities or forms of creative inspiration? Have you been cooking anything new, or can you share any recommendations? I’m not a great cook and we have been quite dependent on food deliveries which may soon not be possible. This week we ate too much pasta and are working on this.
In this moment, where travel is restricted, I want to recommend a beautiful book about traveling, ‘Flights’ by Olga Tokarczuk. I like the audio book too.
What is different about working working from home? My studio is at home, on the lower floor. I haven’t been in the studio for most of the week, but I can draw anywhere!
Winner of the 2018 Man Booker International Prize, ‘Flights’ by Olga Tokarczuk
Kuitca's cubistoid wall painting in the dining room of Durslade Farmhouse, Hauser & Wirth Somerset
Can you tell us the story behind the wall painting in your home? The work you see around the sink is a wall painting I made back in 2011. During my 2013 residency in Somerset while the gallery was being built, I had the privilege of creating a 360 degree permanent work in the dining room of the Farmhouse. More recently, I was commissioned to paint another immersive work for the Clunie Dining Room at The Fife Arms in Scotland. You can see the connection between these rooms and the wall painting here in Buenos Aires, which was the starting point.
What are you currently working on? I am constantly drawing and have been particularly focused on architectural plans in recent weeks. House plans have been one of my favorite subjects since the ’80s and they have a renewed relevance today!
– From a Distance is an ongoing series of personal videos from our artists and friends. We hope that sharing messages, videos and inspiration from artists' homes and studios can bring us all closer together as we navigate this new reality. Follow us on Instagram and sign up to our newsletter to receive our ‘Dispatches’ of online exhibitions, original videos, and experiences.