By Yesica Brumec
Buenos Aires, Oct 10 (IANS/EFE): The Argentine capital is celebrating the Second International Biennial of Contemporary Art featuring artists from 38 countries with over 300 works which use the sense of space, of planes and chromatic values to reflect the trajectory of their creators.

The Borges Cultural Centre is hosting the art works from China, Cuba, Egypt, Slovenia, Spain, Iran and Taiwan, among other countries, in addition to those by local artists.

Among the participants are painter Laurel Holloman from the US; Chinese artist Wenjum Fu; Turemen Mediha Didem from Turkey,who specializes in oil paintings; and Chilean Patricia Schuler Skalwert, who does metal engravings.

The Argentine presence is highlighted by Emiliano Celiz, a resident of Patagonia, who has been working on pieces of silver for 24 years and has become one of the leaders of this field in the country with works like "Bosque sobre el lago", (Forest by the Lake) "Under the Water" and "Lydia".

The programme includes seminars and workshops led by renowned personalities such as art historian Gregorio Luke who will talk about artists who made a breakthrough in the history of art like Frida Kalho, Vincent Van Gogh and Pablo Picasso.

"The proposal has very innovative edges, like the talk by Max Ciogli, an Italian artist brought by Unesco, who will say how, through colour, music can be taught to the hearing impaired," said Biennial curator Maria Elena Beneito.

Artists and the public can visit local museums, such as the Bellas Artes (National Museum of Fine Arts) on guided tours, and enjoy recreational activities at the Borges Cultural Centre where an entire room is dedicated to a photography exhibition.

Apart from being the curator, Beneito is part of the jury along with Gregorio Luke, Cardenas Ponciano, Gyula Kosice and Vito Campanella who will announce the winners of the 12 participating categories, such as painting, drawing and sculpture.

Beneito stressed the importance of free entry to the Biennial because "money is not a constraint for approaching art, but instead it helps to expand what is being created and worked on in the rest of the world".

"In our country, contemporary art is still quite nascent in relation to the world, so these events are good," said Beneito.

"In more developed countries today this branch of art is being abandoned to return to more traditional, classic manifestations," she said.