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Appropriation Dispute at Malba Exhibition Remains Unresolved

An Instagram post by Cabral prompted Malba to defend the exhibition’s use of homage-based appropriation with no legal proceedings initiated

Un detalle de la pintura de Ciruelo de 2005 y el artista fotografiado en el MALBA frente a la obra de Carrie Bencardino que llamó su atención
El artista Gustavo Cabral, más conocido como Ciruelo, denunció en redes sociales que una obra expuesta en este momento en el Malba reproduce una de sus ilustraciones sin mencionar que se trata de una creación suya. Foto: redes sociales.

Overview

  • Ciruelo published side-by-side images of his 2005 work Dragon Caller and Bencardino’s Malba painting, drawing thousands of likes and comments on Instagram.
  • Carrie Bencardino describes her painting as an intentional homage and notes that Cabral’s influence is credited in exhibition catalogues and during guided tours.
  • Malba issued an official statement affirming that Bencardino’s method of repurposing mass-culture imagery reflects a common contemporary art practice.
  • Neither Ciruelo nor the museum has pursued legal action or removed the contested work, keeping the issue confined to public and critical debate.
  • The controversy has reignited discussions in Argentina and beyond about where to draw the line between artistic influence, appropriation, and plagiarism.