Juanito Laguna Remontando Un Barrilete 1973

Antonio Berni made "Juanito Laguna Remontando Un Barrilete" using paint and found materials to create a textured surface. It’s a mix of careful brushwork and almost aggressive collage. The material aspect of this work is really what gets me going. Berni used all sorts of stuff, right? Bits of metal, wood, fabric - a real junkyard symphony. Look at how the paint is applied - sometimes thin and washy, other times built up into thick crusts. It’s like he’s not just painting a picture, he’s building a world. The cloud is particularly great here, a kind of atmospheric hallucination looming in the background. The way Berni combines these disparate elements reminds me a little of Kurt Schwitters, you know, that Dada impulse to find art in the everyday refuse. But Berni gives it a specifically social and political edge. This is a painting that doesn't shy away from showing the hardships of everyday life.