Rolex protégé Matías Umpierrez on facing the uncertain and the complex space of creation

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Matías Umpierrez at the Teatro Español in Madrid with LED screens that he uses in his work.
Matías Umpierrez at the Teatro Español in Madrid with LED screens that he uses in his work.
(Image credit: Yann Rabanier)

Every other year since 2002, the Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative has brought together leading artists, writers, architects, musicians, film-makers, theatre directors and other creative titans with early-career contenders. Past mentors include Magaret Atwood, David Hockney and Anish Kapoor. In November 2016 we profiled the latest seven lucky protégés, paired with guiding lights such as Philip Glass, David Chipperfield and Robert Lepage. The protégés reveal what mentoring has meant to them and how their lives have changed as a result.

Argentine artist Matías Umpierrez has been pushing the boundaries of theatre since 2007, when he became head of theatre at the Rector Ricardo Rojas Cultural Center in Buenos Aires. His mentor is the Canadian theatre director Robert Lepage.

W*: Has any new work come directly out of your time so far with Robert Lepage?
Matías Umpierrez: Towards the end of my year I proposed that we collaborate on a new production. He will be one of the protagonists of a project named The Museum of Fiction, which reflects on how fiction can be displayed in a museum. The first work I’ve chosen for my museum is an adaptation of Macbeth, which will star Robert and a renowned Spanish actress.

W*: How has this last year changed you?
MU: I love the idea of facing the uncertain, a complex space of creation in which the only way to relate to the other is to connect with the present, regardless of any anxiety.

As originally featured in the November 2017 issue of Wallpaper* (W*224)

INFORMATION

For more information, visit the Rolex Mentors & Protégés Initiative‎ website