The exhibition

Patria Petrona presents six scenes composed of “cakes”, and dresses by Pablo Ramírez. In each of these settings, Alfredo Arias recreates celebrations, social gatherings, and events for which these “cakes” were designed. The three paintings by Juan Stoppani serve as the final touch for the “scenes” enacted. Along with Tortazo – a show based on the recipes of Doña Petrona, starring Arias and Alejandro Radano – the director hopes to relive the past from the present, appealing to some of the images’ regenerative properties.  

Boda, 2011
Alfredo Arias
Glazed Ceramic
55 x 37 cm
Pablo Ramírez
Dress. Alpacuna gabardine and tulle.

Alone, yet hopeful, the bride of Patria Petrona is excessive and comprehensive. For Doña Petrona, weddings served as omens of successive anniversaries that began a world of fantasy. The bride, with her extensive tulle train, covers a table set for a toast that ends with the wedding cake: four layers of meringue, flowers, and a miniature bride and groom figurine.  

Patria, 2011
Alfredo Arias
Glazed Ceramic
Torta patria: 18 x 43 cm
Torta capillita de mi pueblo: 47x 36 cm
Tortas choclos: 12 x 48 cm
Pablo Ramírez
Dress. Alpacuna gabardine

On one end, the teacher and her apron: a uniform composed of strict lines and rigid endings. On the other end, the student and her guardapolvos (a uniquely Argentine uniform), generous in flamboyant folds and dressed up with a light blue and white sash. In between these two figures are two corn-shaped cakes (tortas choclos) and two nationalistic cakes decorated with the Argentine flag (torta patria). In the middle is a chapel-shaped cake (torta La capillita de mi pueblo). National values, scholastic traditions, and religious symbols are essential to the scene.

Bautismo, 2011
Alfredo Arias
Glazed Ceramic. 28 x 40 cm
Pablo Ramírez
Dresses. Alpacuna gabardine and tulle.

A godmother dressed in a yellow top and bottom, the former with sumptuous sleeves and tight folds. She imposes her presence between the two cakes, one in light blue for a boy’s baptism, the other in pink for a girl’s baptism. Both cakes signal the importance of baptism as a rite of passage. With figurines of children in diapers waving their arms, these cakes reinforce the miracle of life.

Familia de La Boca, 2011
Alfredo Arias
Glazed Ceramic. 42 x 47 x 20 cm
Pablo Ramírez
Dress. Alpacuna gabardine, gros point, and tulle

This typical family is not only an ideal target for Doña Petrona, but also pays tribute to the neighborhood of La Boca. All are in blue and gold – mother and daughter in an apron, father and son in overalls. With this example, Patria Petrona praises the ultimate destination of immigrants to Argentina. By placing this boquense family in the middle of the Marcelo ship cake, the exhibit displays the transition many families underwent in Argentina.

Hora del té (I), 2011
Alfredo Arias
Glazed Ceramic. 12 x 44 cm
Pablo Ramírez
Dress. Alpacuna gabardine and tulle.

Hora del té (II), 2011
Alfredo Arias
Glazed Ceramic. 12 x 44 cm
Pablo Ramírez

The two women surrounding Juan Stoppani’s paintings are dressed in monochrome dresses and are accompanied by a honeycomb cake occupied by bees and butterflies, cornstarch alfajores, and a clock cake that marks the hour. Green represents nature, red the determination of time. A feminine exchange with a touch of formality and perkiness associated with 1950’s silhouettes.

Cumpleaños, 2011
Alfredo Arias
Glazed Ceramic.
Drum cake: 30 x 45 cm
Carousel cake: 60 x 45 cm
Pablo Ramírez
Dress. Alpacuna gabardine and tulle

A typical birthday in the life of two children: the drum cake, seen by Doña Petrona as a treat especially for boys, holds three musicians and two drumsticks willing to mark the pulse of a march. The boy, standing upright, is dressed in shorts and a shirt with folds and light blue jabots. For the girl, on the other hand, the narrow and flared fuchsia dress, along with the carousel cake carrying the Argentine flag, signify amusement.

Paintings
Juan Stoppani

Torta aniversario 50 años, 2011
Acrylic on canvas. 175 x 195 cm.

Arrollado Caruso, 2011
Acrylic on canvas. 167 x 195 cm.

Conejo, 2011
Acrylic on canvas. 167 x 195 cm.