Abstraction maintains an appropriately nebulous identity: while the entire genre gets lost on some, others can instead get lost inside abstract art. That means, for every obnoxious parent who claims their “5-year-old could do that,” there’s a thoughtful observer excavating meaning from a work of art, or perhaps concocting a narrative all their own.

Miles away from the crudely rendered abstractions routinely associated with unsuspecting toddlers, the precise work of Argentinian artist Cecilia Biagini builds otherworldly drama via swirling lines and distorted grids, repeated patterns that are at once organic and geometric, and compositions reminiscent of puzzles, celestial configurations and scientific specimens.



Born in Buenos Aires and based in Brooklyn, Biagini works between painting, prints, mobiles and photograms (essentially photographic collages created without a camera). Despite shifts in materials and approaches, Biagini says her diverse yet consistently colorful works “find commonalities in their composition and playfulness.”

Having shown locally with Ruiz-Healy Art for more than a decade, Biagini returns to San Antonio for “Agua Viva,” her fourth solo show at the gallery. Named after the Spanish term for a type of jellyfish — which translates as “living water” — “Agua Viva” comprises recent paintings and sculptures inspired by “the movement of the body’s rhythmic contractions while underwater.” During Wednesday’s opening reception, Biagini and collaborator Iloa Biagini-Rosenbaum will complement the works on display by performing improvised pieces combining movement and sound.



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