After training at the School of Fine Arts in Buenos Aires (1983-1985) Ernesto Ballesteros joined Grupo de la X [‘Group X’], a group of artists centred on sculptor Enio Iommi. He staged his first solo exhibition at the Centre of Art and Communication in the Argentine capital in 1990.

His work is characterised by monochromatic drawing and the use of compositions that reflect the links between art and science, with particular emphasis on astronomy, in which he took an interest from an early age. Around the year 2000 Ballesteros began to work with light, using devices such as electric light-bulbs and altered photos taken by himself in which he covered up the sources of natural and artificial light.

He subsequently produced series of drawings and murals in groups, and staged actions with a model aircraft, flying through locations associated with the art establishment. These included ‘Indoor Flights’ at La Sucrière (the venue of the Lyon Biennial) in 2011 and the Arsenale building (the venue of the Venice Biennale) in 2015. He later replaced model aircraft with even more fragile elements in his series Paper Airplane Contests, which he organised at the Puerto Rico Biennial (2004) and at the International Residency for Artists of the Civitella-Rainieri Foundation (Umbría, Italy, 2007).

His work has been shown individually at various venues in Buenos Aires including the Museum of Modern Art (2007), the Ibero-American Institute for Cooperation (2000) and the Centre of Art and Communication (1990). He has also taken part in joint exhibitions at the Proa Foundation (Buenos Aires, 2013), the Santa Cruz de la Sierra Biennial (Bolivia, 2008-2009), the Museum of Art of Pereyra (Colombia, 2008-2009) and, on several occasions, at the Recoleta and Borges cultural centres in Buenos Aires.

Beatriz Herráez