Tan Vargas uses diverse media, techniques and materials in the creation of his paintings. Amongst his works, the use of silk-screen printing is identified as his prime method, for graphic treatment later on. Drawing and vector images play a main role within his pieces, in which he combines diverse elements of illustration, photography and advertising images, combined in a purely pictorial field firmly rooted in Street Art.

His work has been related on innumerable occasions to some of the referents of Pop Art; likewise, his neo-figurative compositions linked to the world of advertising give life to a work that is elaborated under conditions of automatism, that is, giving wide space for gestural freedom over intellectual control in the production and conception of each piece.

Statement

“The signs and stimuli of the contemporary come fast and at the same time in my work. I attempt to present and spread before people´s eyes a reality whose elements are in a controlled state of disorder.

My recent body of work consists in pieces that explore the combination of photography and painting. I experiment with a wide range of varied topics and subjects, linked with the concept of selection and graphic compilation, producing a large body of work that is experimental and in search of conceptual diversity.

Each of the series of paintings that I’m working on unfolds as an album, an archive of found random images and a binnacle of content. This produces an unsettling vision of specific themes, where nature, science and technology interact and merge, operating as a platform that contains and displays multiple layers of meaning….

I work with silkscreen as the main technique for image transfer as it accommodates to my dynamic, fast and intuitive working pace.

I try to transcend the medium and create layered narratives that allow for multiple interpretations of images. These generate a direct and immediate thematic assimilation in the viewer, and gives way to a distinct aesthetic experience.”

Art works I Exhibitions

About the artist

Residences and complementary workshops

2013

·    Residence Arte Mutt, Santiago de Chile

2011

·    Residence at The Art Student League of New York, USA

2007

·    Residence at Gallery/Space Koputai, Port Chalmers, Dunedin, New Zealand.

·    Workshop at Chiang Mai University, Thailand,

·    Workshop at Gallery None, Dunedin, New Zealand

Art Prizes and Awards

2003

·    Honor Mention in the “Cuarto Salon”, at Finis Terrae University, Chile.

2002

·    1º Art Prize at “Coporacion Cultural de Vitacura, Casas de lo Matta”, Chile.

2001

·    1º Art Prize at National Art Grand “Ojo con el Cobre”, Chile.

Books

·    Chilean contemporary painters, ISBN 978-956-8781-20-0

·    Latin-American contemporary painting, ISBN 978-956-345-570-0

·    Art & Wine Artist Selection, ISBN 978-956-8553-00-2

Individual and collective Exhibitions

2019

·    “Ultimas obras”, at Cecilia Palma Gallery, Santiago, Chile.

2014

·    “Fotosíntesis”, at Mutt Art Gallery, Santiago, Chile.

2013

·    “Road ON”, Pinturas sobre papel, Centro Cultural “La Hormigonera”, Saints, Barcelona. España

2012

·    “Made in NYC”, at Galeria Artespacio, Santiago, Chile.

·    “TESTER”, Monumental paintings, at Almirante Pastene.

·    “Getaway Series”, at Bellavista, Chile.

·    “MUTT”, Solo Exhibition. Mutt Gallery, Chile.

2011

·    “(Universal) art is not an object”, at Gallery Local Project, New York.

·    “As things appear to be”, Installation at Gallery Local Project, New York.

·    “AIR Vitacil”, at Gallery Sparkill, Student League of New York.

2010

·    “Sin Titulo”, collective exhibition at Centro cultural Matucana 100,Santiago, Chile.

·    “Universal (art is no object)” at Gallery Local Project, New York.

·    “Attention Spam”, at Centro Cultural Borges, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

·    “Laboratorio”, at  Ministerio de la Cultura de Valparaiso, Chile.

2008

·    “GAMMA”, at Gallery Moto, Santiago, Chile

·    “Make it go away”, at Cross Street Studios, Auckland, New Zealand.

2007

·    “Artistas siglo XXl”, at Centro de Extencion de la Universidad Catolica, Santiago, Chile

·    Paiting exhibition at Gallery Koputai, Dunedin, New Zealand.

·    “The god, the ship, the mutiny”, None Gallery, Dunedin, New Zealand.

·    “Bear”, Serigraphic Installation, at None Gallery, Dunedin, New Zealand.

·    “Proyecto de algo en 6 semanas”, Room103, Auckland, New Zealand.

·    “Fuck em all”, collective exhibition at Cross Street Studios, Auckland, New Zealand

2006

·    “EX CARCEL”, collective exhibition at Valparaiso, Chile.

·    “Arte y vino”, at Museo Rally and Casa de piedra, Santiago, Chile.

·    “CUSTOM MADE”, at Gallery Cecilia Palma, Santiago, Chile.

·    “Artistas siglo XXl”, at Centro de Extencion de la Universidad Catolica de Chile.

·    “Oleada de Sabores”, collective exhibition at Galeria La Sala, Santiago, Chile.

·    “Amigos de belisario”, at Galeria Praxis, Santiago, Chile.

·    “PINTORES CON NIÑOS/LA OTRA BANDERA” Collective exhibition and actions between artists and kids, at Museo Histórico Militar, Santiago, Chile.

2005

·    Collective sculptures exhibition at Galeria Artespacio, Santiago, Chile.

·    Contemporary art, collective exhibition, at Historico Militar, Santiago, Chile.

2004

·    “Artistas del siglo XXl”, at Centro de Extencion de la Universidad Catolica de Chile.

·    Collective exhibition at Salon VIP “Mistral”, at International Airport from Santiago, Chile.

·    “Lan-Art”, at the LAN CHILE Head Quarter, Santiago, Chile.

·    “Segunda Piel”, at Sala de Exposiciones de la Universidad Finis Terrae Chile.

·    “Arte y poesía joven”, at Sala El Farol, Valparaiso, Chile

·    Festival “Arte Off”, at Corporación Cultural Artek.cl, Santiago, Chile.

·    “Tela de vaca”, at Casas de lo Matta, Santiago, Chile.

2003

·    “Cuarto salón de alumnos de la Universidad Finis Terrae”, at Centro Cultural Montecarmelo, Santiago, Chile.

·    Solo exhibition at Casas de lo Matta, Santiago, Chile.

·    “SERO”, Photo-serigraphy exhibition at Gallery Estrategia, Santiago, Chile.

·    Collective exhibition, tribute to Vicente Huidobro, Arteurbano, Santiago, Chile.

·    “Brocha gruesa”, collective exhibition at Gallery “Artium”, Santiago, Chile.

·    “Computadores pintados”, collective exhibition at Valle Escondido, Arteurbano, Chile.

2002

·    “Talentos Universitarios”, at Galeria Chilearte, Santiago, Chile.

·    Collective Sculptures Exhibition at Gallery Artespacio, Santiago, Chile.

·    “Arte y poesía joven”, at Sala El Farol, Valparaiso, Chile.

·    Solo exhibition, “Drawings”, at gallery MOMA (2002) Santiago, Chile.

·    Phillips ART Expression for young talents, at Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Santiago, Chile

2001

·    “Ojo con el cobre”, itinerant exhibition at ciudades de Calama, Salvador, Copiapo, Los Angeles, Centro de Extencion de la Universidad Catolica de Chile, Codelco Chile, and mina Radomiro Tomic, Chile.

International Art Fairs

2019

·    Auckland Art Fair, New Zealand.

·    FAXXI Santiago, Contemporary Art Fair, Santiago, Chile.

2018

·    Parc Lima Art Fair, Peru.

·    Auckland Art Fair, New Zealand.

·    MAC Mercado de arte Contemporáneo, Córdoba, Argentina

·    2018 FACA Feria de Arte Contemporáneo Argentino, Buenos Aires, Argentina

2017

·    Art Lima -Feria internacional de arte de Lima, Perú

·    Sydney Contemporary Art Fair, Australia.

·    The Other Art Fair, Sydney, Australia.

·    VCA Art Fair, Hamburg, Germany.

2016

·    Auckland Art Fair, New Zealand.

·    Art Central Hong Kong

·    Mercado de Arte Córdoba 2016, Córdoba, Argentina

2015

·    Chaco Art Fair, Santiago, Chile.

·    Sydney Contemporary Art Fair, Australia.

2014

·    Chaco Art Fair, Santiago, Chile.