POP ESOTERICISM: CHARLIE SQUIRRU AT ROLF ART
The gallery presents a journey through the Argentine artist’s 1960s production, where pop language intertwines with occult symbols, esoteric imagery, and an alternative spirituality that defined his career.
Rolf Art is pleased to announce the opening of the exhibition Esoterismo Pop: Charlie Squirru, an unprecedented solo show featuring a carefully curated selection of works and personal archive materials by Charlie Squirru (1934–2022, Argentina), a key figure of the Di Tella scene and modern Argentine art. Curated by Gonzalo Aguilar, the exhibition focuses on the body of work Squirru developed during the 1960s, marked by the influence of Pop Art and a unique fascination with esoteric imagery that would permeate his entire oeuvre from that point forward.
As Kenneth Kemble pointed out in his columns for The Buenos Aires Herald, Charlie Squirru was the one who introduced Pop to Argentine art. However, his approach was unique: beyond his wide range of interests and intersections with figures such as his partner Dalila Puzzovio (b. 1943, Argentina) his work incorporated an enigmatic and seductive dimension, infused with esoteric references, occult symbols, and an alternative spirituality that would profoundly shape his entire career.
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Charlie Squirru & Dalila Puzzovio. Cortesía Rolf Art
During his early years in New York, studying at the Art Students League and the Pratt Institute of Graphic Arts, Squirru began to explore abstract expressionism and collage, using—much like Kurt Schwitters—precarious and everyday materials. In 1963, following a premonitory dream and a piece inspired by the assassination of John F. Kennedy, his work became forever marked by symbols and a series of recurring figurative motifs: brains, spark plugs, motorcycles, spurts of blood, chains, and insects.
Likewise, emblematic works from his esoteric production such as The Sorcerers of Pneumonia (1963), The Pyramid of Saturn (1965), or La gruta non sancta (1964) are key works not only for understanding the arrival of Pop Art on the local scene, but also the singular nature of Squirru’s vision within that language. “Charlie Squirru was an emblematic Pop artist, yes—but above all, he was a herald of esoteric Pop”, said Aguilar.
The exhibition proposes an immersion into the fascinating universe of Charlie Squirru through an unprecedented and detailed revision of his documentary archive —including original print photographs, slides, documents, texts, correspondence, and sketches— articulated alongside early works such as paintings and installations. These pieces resonate deeply with Informalism and the emergence of Pop within the Di Tella generation of 1960s Argentina, allowing us to trace the origins of a unique visual language that persistently fuses esotericism with a Pop sensibility throughout his work.
The exhibition will be open from August 22 to September 10 at Rolf Art, Esmeralda 1353, Buenos Aires (Argentina).
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