Miguel Ángel Lens's Posthumous Exhibition Reveals Gay Poetry and Visual Art Activism in Buenos Aires

A posthumous exhibition at MUNTREF presents the work of Miguel Ángel Lens (Buenos Aires, 1951–2011), a poet, visual artist, and activist. Curated by Francisco Lemus and Mariano López Seoane, "La Poesía está en la calle" showcases typed poems, drawings, collages, pamphlets, letters, and photographs, many donated by his brother José Luis and friends after his death. Lens co-founded the San Telmo Gay group in the 1980s and the Poesía Gay de Buenos Aires group in 1994, though he never exhibited his visual work in institutions during his lifetime. The display includes works hung on walls and stored in cabinets, with a sound installation by poet Mariano Blatt reading Lens's poetry. Key pieces like "Dibujopoema" blend drawing and poetry, emphasizing a shared origin between the visual and poetic. All materials are on 30 x 20 cm paper, designed for easy transport and reproduction. The exhibition highlights Lens's critique of cultural segmentation and algorithmic programming, connecting disparate sensibilities from Sandro Penna to Rimbaud and Juan Gelman. It runs with an emphasis on urban wandering and encounters with the unknown, as echoed in the poem "Arolá."