"Every human being is an artist,
a free being, called to participate in the transformation
and the reorganization of the conditions, the thinking
and the structures that shaspe and inform our lives"
Joseph Beuys

San Miguel de Allende, Gto., May 31, 2017.- "I think art is powerful because it can generate a deep transformation in people through poetic spaces that keep the spectator in suspense and, it allows to open a gap where things occur: from wonder, surprise, breath and even discomfort..."

That is how Iván Puig describes the power of art and the ways it can become a platform of reflection and critical thinking. Puig is a multidisciplinary artist that takes art as a laboratory of creation and imagination where he can perform freely, using different techniques and knowledge areas.

He is a graduate of the degree in Plastic Arts of the University of Guanajuato (UG) and to date, is one of the artists with greater national and international projection. His work is not attached to any regime or dogma, on contrary, it is open the possibility to create from the installation, photography, sculpture, drawing, etc.

In a workshop in San Miguel de Allende which he shares with Gilberto Esparza –also a graduated artist of UG--, is where Puig begins to plan and bring to life his projects. This space could also be a blacksmith workshop, a woodworking shop or a chemistry and biology laboratory, since their works part from a deep research of several social events, which are explored and projected involving science and technology.

The neoliberalism, corruption, power abuse and social inequity, are some of the topics Puig works making a criticism through their artistic manifestations. An example, is the project called "SEFT-1 (Sonda de Exploración Ferroviaria Tripulada)" he created with his brother Andrés Padilla Domene.

"SEFT-1" is defined as a "project which propose the exploration of no longer used train tracks as a parting point for the reflection and research regarding the modern research project and actual contexts. Addresses both sides of the social experience of technology: utility and waste."

Puig mentioned that the idea was born of some sort of indignation for not having a passenger train in Mexico. However, the project grew in time and expanded its reach and "that which began as indignation and nostalgia, it became a deeper research that had to do with modernity, progress, and the bipolarity of the use and waste of technology", said the artist.

With SEFT-1 they explored the train tracks in several states such as Chihuahua, Coahuila, Guanajuato, Jalisco, Michoacán, Oaxaca, just to mention some. The imaginarium of the artists led them to construct a space ship which they began exploring in 2010, since then, this project has continued growing and has taken them to research them about the train in other countries like Ecuador, England and United States. All the results of the exploration, as well as the visual material can be visited in http://www.seft1.net

One of the projects Puig is currently working on is called "FóSe (Secret Formula)", which is a research on the relationship triangle that establishes among neoliberalism-energy-bodies. The project includes several pieces and actions among which there is a distillation of a cola in any public site –such as markets or malls— "What I do is an act of alchemy, of water decolonization", small boxes that contain decolonized water samples and the rest has information related with its health impact.

The project continues thanks to the support of the National System of Creators and Iván continues researching and proposing through drawings, videos, photos, sculptures, distillation and colorimetry.

"SEFT-1" and "Fórmula Secreta", are just some of the examples that show that Iván Puig is an engaged artist and worried for his environment, which he stops to visualize and face situations that collaborate in decay and delay in the community. And, he uses art as a tool for social transformation.

He also mentioned that art is "pretext to continue playing", to feel free amidst a tighter system and in which we voluntarily slave.

To finalize, he mentioned that during his stay in the University of Guanajuato, it helped him find the discipline, the study of several techniques, as well as the possibility to make academic exchanges in other countries –in his case to Spain and Canada—, which allowed to expand the horizons. In addition, at UG he formed endearing human relationships as friendship with the graduates and artists, Marcela Armas and Gilberto Esparza, with which he is part of the collective "TRiodO".

Iván Puig has received the support and recognition of different institutions such as CIFO, FONCA, CMM, CENART and IMCINE among others. His work is shown nationally and internationally in museums, galleries and art fairs. The line that connects his work is the critic's perspective and humor which are present in his various approximations to the social.