Jorge de la Vega

Jorge de la Vega (Buenos Aires, 1930 – 1971) was one of the most influential Argentine artists of the 20th century and a central figure of the New Figuration, The movement, which, along with Luis Felipe Noé, Ernesto Deira, and Rómulo Macció, revitalized painting in Argentina and Latin America from the early 1960s. Works such as Rompecabezas (Puzzle) and his series Conflicto anamorfo (Anamorphic Conflict) are now essential references in contemporary Argentine art.

A self-taught painter, draftsman, engraver, and singer-songwriter, he was also an aspiring architect, a university professor at the University of Buenos Aires and Cornell University, a perspectivist, a comic book author, a graphic designer, and an advertising creative. His unique interdisciplinary work, imbued with humor, social critique, and a distinctive iconography, continues to resonate with viewers half a century after his death.

The son of José L. de la Vega, an accountant of Catalan origin, and María Margarita Lozano, a teacher of Galician descent, he was the youngest of three siblings. His first contact with painting came through his father, an amateur painter, and at the age of fourteen he began his training with live models at the Sociedad Estímulo de Bellas Artes (Society for the Promotion of Fine Arts).