Mondongo is an Argentine art collective founded in 1999 by Juliana Laffitte, Manuel Mendanha and Agustina Picasso, who met at art school in Buenos Aires. They build portraits and social scenes from unlikely materials like plasticine, thread, glass and food.
Mondongo at a glance
- Founded: 1999, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Founders: Juliana Laffitte, Manuel Mendanha and Agustina Picasso, who met at the Escuela Nacional de Bellas Artes Prilidiano Pueyrredón
- Known for: Portraits and social scenes built from unconventional materials
- Materials: Plasticine, glass, thread, resin, food and other everyday objects
- Most famous work: “Argentina (paisajes),” a 45-meter plasticine installation
- Themes: Identity, power, memory and consumer culture
- Official website: mondongo.ar
What makes Mondongo’s art different?
Instead of paint, they build their images out of everyday and unexpected materials, plasticine, glass, thread, resin, even food, turning portraits and social scenes into textured, almost sculptural pieces.
Who are the artists behind Mondongo?
The collective was founded in 1999 by Juliana Laffitte, Manuel Mendanha and Agustina Picasso, who met while studying at the Escuela Nacional de Bellas Artes Prilidiano Pueyrredón in Buenos Aires. Picasso later left the group, and today Mondongo continues mainly as Laffitte and Mendanha.
What is Mondongo’s most famous work?
“Argentina (paisajes),” a 45-meter installation made entirely of plasticine over four years (2009 to 2013). It debuted at Buenos Aires’ Museum of Modern Art, has traveled to Rome’s MAXXI and LACMA in Los Angeles, and later sold for $1.27 million, the highest price ever paid for an Argentine artwork at public auction.
A portrait built up in plasticine and mixed materials, part of Mondongo’s unconventional approach to figurative art. A social scene rendered in the collective’s signature mix of unconventional materials rather than paint. One of Mondongo’s identity and memory-themed pieces, built with the collective’s textured, sculptural technique. A close-up-worthy piece showing the raw, textured surface Mondongo achieves by building images rather than painting them. A plasticine portrait, the same material the collective used to build their record-setting “Argentina (paisajes)” installation. A piece touching on power and consumer culture, two of the recurring themes in Mondongo’s work. A realist image built from unusual materials, the contrast the collective is best known for. Bold color and heavy texture, both hallmarks of the Buenos Aires collective’s hands-on process. A figurative piece with a sculptural quality, sitting somewhere between painting and relief. A piece from the Buenos Aires collective’s studio, built by hand from the unlikely materials that define their work.
You can see more of Mondongo’s work on their official website at mondongo.ar.