A large photorealist painting depicting Patagonia’s Perito Moreno Glacier was removed from a hall in Argentina’s presidential palace shortly before congressional approval of an amendment to the glacier law that would facilitate mining in glacial regions. The painting, “The Triumph of Nature” (2006) by Helmut Ditsch, had been on display since 2012 after being loaned to the government. The communications office said the work was taken down for maintenance due to structural damage, without further details. Ditsch reported he received no official notification and learned of the removal through news, claiming the loan agreement required notice. He contacted lawyers after unanswered attempts to reach the heritage office. A portrait of Juan Domingo and Evita Perón was also removed from the same room.
"Days before Argentina's congressional approval on 9 April of an amendment to the country's glacier law to facilitate mining in glacial regions-which, according to environmentalists, weakens the protection of these freshwater reservoirs-president Javier Milei's government removed a monumental painting depicting the Perito Moreno Glacier from one of the halls of the Casa Rosada, the presidential palace."
"The work's disappearance did not go unnoticed, due to both its poignant subject matter and enormous size. The Triumph of Nature (2006), by the Argentina-born, Austria-based photorealist painter Helmut Ditsch, measures 1.3m by 4m and depicts the ice fields of Patagonia, which are part of Los Glaciares National Park, a Unesco World Heritage site."
"A spokesperson for the government's communications office tells The Art Newspaper that Ditsch's painting was removed "for maintenance reasons" to address "structural damage", but did not elaborate. No notice. Ditsch says he has not received any official notification about his work's removal or whereabouts."
""I found out through the news that the government removed my work, which they cannot do without notifying me, since that was the agreement when I loaned it," he tells The Art Newspaper. He says his attempts to contact the government's heritage office have gone unanswered and he has contacted his lawyers. Ditsch adds: "My first reaction was to think of the glaciers law that was about to be debated.""
Read at The Art Newspaper - International art news and events
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