Graciela Sacco (Rosario, Argentina, 1956–2017) was one of the leading figures in contemporary Argentine art. Trained in Visual Arts at the Universidad Nacional de Rosario, her work encompasses photography, video, installations and urban interventions, underpinned by research into heliographic printing that enables her to imprint images on unconventional supports, including spoons, tarpaulins, walls, bricks and other everyday materials.
Sacco’s work carries a strong political charge. The artist developed her poetics in an Argentina marked by the shadow of those disappeared under the military dictatorship (1976–1983), drawing on Latin American conceptualism of the 1960s, including the Tucumán Arde collective, also the subject of her academic research. Her work investigates how violence is inscribed on bodies and everyday objects, and gives universal form to fear and trauma through plays of light and shadow. Images of open mouths, watchful eyes and fragments of the human body lend presence to inanimate objects in works that engage with issues such as displacement, migration, exile and the contemporary diaspora.
Beyond her own artistic production, Sacco was a central figure in strengthening the presence of Argentine women in the arts from the 1980s onward. From 1987 to 1997, she taught at the Taller de Arte Experimental (TAE), within the Escuela de Bellas Artes at the Universidad Nacional de Rosario, and authored the book "Escrituras solares. La heliografía en el campo artístico" (1994).
Sacco represented Argentina at several international biennials, including Venice (2001), São Paulo (1996), Havana (1997 and 2000), Mercosul (1997), Shanghai (2004) and Ushuaia (2009). She also participated in solo and group exhibitions in countries including England, Germany, France, Israel, the United States, Brazil, Colombia and Peru.
Her work is held in major international collections, including MAMBA (Museo de Arte Moderno de Buenos Aires), Argentina; MACRO (Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Rosario), Argentina; the Bronx Museum (New York, United States); MFAH (Museum of Fine Arts, Houston), United States; the Museum of Art Fort Lauderdale, United States; the Microsoft Collection, Washington, United States; and Essex University, Colchester, England.