DANI UMPI

Dani Umpi (Tacuarembó, Uruguay, 1974. Lives and works between Montevideo and Buenos Aires), is an offbeat artist within the Queer scene of the Rio de la Plata.

His work is compulsive, hyperactive, multidisciplinary, frontier, covering all imaginable crosses between cultural industry, popular culture, literature, music and visual arts.

He embodies a self-parodying character, a hybrid between drag tradition and conceptual performance. He regularly performs in Uruguay, Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Mexico. He published novels taken to the cinema and to the theater.

Among his pieces are great works in paper collages, in constant reference to Brazilian Neoconcretism and Pop Art. With cumulative exuberance and chromatic lust makes unexpected esoteric and melodramatic winks, speculating between the transcendent and the banal.

He published the following novels: Aún soltera; Miss Tacuarembó (adapted for the screen by Martín Sastre in 2010); Sólo te quiero como amigo y Un poquito tarada; the short stories Niño rico con problemas and ¿A quién quiero engañar?; the poems book La vueltita ridícula and the children’s book El vestido de mamá (in collaboration with Rodrigo Moraes).

Umpi released the albums Guazatumba; Lechiguanas; Perfecto; Dramática (with guitarist Adrián Soiza); Mormazo & Dani Umpi Piano. Vol I – Vol II (with pianist Álvaro Sánchez). He also worked with Sofía Oportot and Ignacio on the project Oportot Umpi Redard and released the album Hijo único.

In 2009, he wrote and composed with musician Javier Vaz Martins the musical Nena, no robarás, directed by Maruja Bustamante in Buenos Aires. In 2012, Umpi wrote and directed the play-performance Marta, la musical in TAE – Teatro Argentino in La Plata city. In 2013, he wrote and performed A rainha da beleza by director and co-author Gustavo Bitencourt for Todos os géneros, a festival at Fundación Itaú, San Pablo.

In 2014 he started working on the series Parangolés rigidos from concepts inspired by Brazilian artist Hélio Oiticica. His first performance of this installation-performance-musical took place at Casa de la Cultura Mario Quintana, Porto Alegre, Brazil. The second presentation was at MALBA – Museum of Latin American Art in Buenos Aires, at the finissage of In your face by photographer Mario Testino.

He has presented the following Solo and duo shows: El humo huyendo del incendio, Centro de Arte Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina (2024); Reino, Aguada Park Art Zone, Montevideo, Uruguay (2024); Obra consciente, Xippas gallery, Punta del Este, Uruguay (2022); Ideas en mente, El Gran Vidrio, Córdoba, Argentina (2020); Orden y Secreto, HACHE, Buenos Aires, Argentina (2019); Maldito Duende, HACHE, Buenos Aires, Argentina (2017); Parangolés rígidos, Galería Xippas, París (2014); Informática, Galería Xippas, Montevideo, Uruguay (2013); La evolución del ser, Galería Soa, Montevideo, Uruguay, (2011); Eterna, Galería Daniel Abate, Buenos Aires, Argentina (2011); Todo incluido, Galería Jacob Karpio, San José, Costa Rica (2010); Nem Luxo, Nem Lixo, Galería OZ, Buenos Aires, Argentina (2010); Superbacana, MEC, Plataforma, Montevideo, Uruguay (2009).

His work has been presented in several group exhibitions around the world.

Umpi also participated in the Biennial of Sao Paulo (2010) and the 1st. Biennial of Montevideo (2012).

In 2012, the Guadalajara International Book Fair chose Dani Umpi among the “25th literary secrets from Latin America”.

workS

Apuntes de las primeras 8 clases. Teoría Mística en Curso de Iniciación para Duendes vocacionales, 2019

Dani Umpi

Collage, paper, nylon & tulle
196.9 x 37.4 in (approximate measurements)

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Paisaje, 2019

Dani Umpi

Installation. Paper collage on colored soaps
3.9 x 59.1 x 5.5 in (approximate measurements)

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04. Series Primeros poemas para duendes en vertical, 2018

Dani Umpi

Collage on paper
19.7 x 13.7 in

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03. Series Primeros poemas para duendes en vertical, 2018

Dani Umpi

Collage on paper
19.7 x 13.7 in

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25. Series Poemas para duendes en vertical, 2018

Dani Umpi

Collage on paper
18.1 x 12.6 in

19. Series Poemas para duendes en vertical, 2018

Dani Umpi

Collage on paper
18.1 x 12.6 in

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08. Series Grandes poemas para duendes en vertical, 2018

Dani Umpi

Collage on paper
32.1 x 20.1 in

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Duendolatría (II), 2017

Dani Umpi

Collage on paper
27.5 x 19.8 in

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Grinder Agosto 2016 (B), 2017

Dani Umpi

Collage on paper
47.6 x 29.1 in

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Conos, 2017

Dani Umpi

Collage on paper
27.5 x 19.6 x 1.9 in

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EXHIBItIONS

COPIADO Y PRESTADO
GROUP SHOW


MAY 10. — JUL. 202
4

EL HUMO HUYENDO DEL INCENDIO
DANI UMPI

CURATED BY RODRIGO BARCOS
CENTRO DE ARTE UNLP
APR 6. — JUN. 2024

UNIVERSO PRÓXIMO PROCESO
GROUP SHOW

FEB 7. — MAR 31. 2022

LO QUE QUEDA
GROUP SHOW

NOV 23. 2020 — APR 30. 2021

IDEAS EN MENTE
DANI UMPI

CURATED BY RODRIGO BARCOS
MAR 6. — MAY 20. 2020

ORDEN Y SECRETO CATALINA SCHLIEBENER & DANI UMPI

CURATED BY NICOLÁS CUELLO
13 AUG. — 21 SEP. 2019

MALDITO DUENDE
DANI UMPI

CURATED BY GACHI HASPER
AUG 8. — SEP 16. 2017

FairS

MERCADO DE ARTE

CÓRDOBA, ARGENTINA
JUN 1 — 4. 2023

ARTEBA 2019

BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA
APR 11 — 14 . 2019

ARTEBA 2018

BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA
MAY 24 — 27. 2018

DISCOGRAPHY

BOOKS

El vestido de mamá

Criatura editora
Montevideo

2013

Un poquito tarada

Planeta
Montevideo

2012

Sólo te quiero como amigo

Interzona
Buenos Aires

2011

La vueltita ridícula

Vestales
Buenos Aires

2010

Aún soltera

Mansalva
Buenos Aires

2005

Miss Tacuarembó

Ediciones Dani
Buenos Aires

2004