Pascual Di Bianco was born to a family of Italian immigrants in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1930. Although he worked at a towel factory throughout his teen years, Di Bianco discovered his aptitude for the arts early on and began training on his own. He studied formally in his early twenties under Juan Carlos Castagnino and attended workshops in Villa Insuperable. In his early twenties, he met Ricardo Carpani, another aspiring artist, who invited Di Bianco to make use of his workshop
Di Bianco was always most inspired by his surrounding environment, so he joined the Spartacus Movement in 1960. The Spartacus Movement formed in 1959 and depicted the horrific realities of working class life in the hopes of one day ending bourgeoisie suppression of Argentinian culture. The figurations Di Bianco produced while with the Spartacus Movement were enraged and exhausted by government corruption. During his time with the movement, Di Bianco created many socially driven murals, including one in the auditorium of the social club of Loma Negra, Buenos Aires and another in the community center of Parque Chacabuco, Buenos Aires. Political tensions grew within the Spartacus Movement in 1961, leading to the expulsion of Ricardo Carpani. Di Bianco subsequently exited the group in solidarity. A year later, the pair met a group of prominent swiss art dealers who planned on opening an art gallery in Stockholm. Carpani and Di Bianco agreed to join the art dealers in Europe largely because they had become political targets in Argentina. Di Bianco created two murals in union buildings before departing from Argentina. In 1964, Di Bianco and Carpani left for Stockholm with the art dealers. A gallery was opened, and the artists began to exhibit their work; this gallery become a space where other intellectuals and creative types could congregate and collaborate. In Stockholm, Di Bianco’s work was greatly influenced by Scandinavian melancholy: his colors grew muted, and his figures softened. Di Bianco worked with Ingmar Berman while in Stockholm, as a set designer for the television version of The Magic Flute. The Spartacus Movement culminated in one final show in Buenos Aires in 1968, where Di Bianco featured as an ex-member by invitation. He returned to Argentina for the show with the intention of resettling in his home country – he even painted a mural called “Peron and His People” in the hall of the municipal palace of Vicent Lopez, however due to continuing political turmoil in the country, he fled back to Europe in 1973. In 1976, Di Bianco met Inger Junker, whom he married a few months later. The following year, Di Bianco fell ill and died in Stockholm in 1978. He is remembered as one of the greatest artists of his generation, with Loma Negra declaring his work cultural heritage. |