In the same space, we see a series of large fish "swimming" in mirrors showing their sharp teeth. Some of them even have no eyes, only disconcerting black sockets. In the next room, Freisztav's works are divided between crushed toads, glass frogs and others multiplied on the wall, a set of snakes and gutted fish whose insides can be seen in great detail.

At each end of the rooms, we can see two installations. One of them, probably the most striking, reveals monkeys sitting on logs holding objects. It is inspired by the colonization of America and the ensuing massacre. The halo of mystery and desperation conveyed by the monkeys, with their upright postures and penetrating gaze, is truly mesmerizing.

 

Freisztav's visceral aesthetics is traversed by his personal experience and the complex political context of Argentina in the 1990s, marked by neoliberalism and economic crisis. From the expressive force of animals, the artist is able to externalize the deepest part of the human condition, such as fragility. While at that time "light art" was fashionable among Argentine artists (a kind of naive kitsch), Freisztav built a personal and completely different style, much more carnal, material, and dark.

"El Búlgaro" is an exhibition that vindicates an innovative artist who was forgotten by art history. Freisztav belonged to the alternative circuit of the arts and was never able to make a living from art. He was a proletarian who worked as a bricklayer, house painter, welder, waiter, etc. Even so, his pieces reflect his passion for art. The exhibition rescues emblematic works of almost twenty years of career, whose artistic production developed throughout the 90s until his death in 2008.