“For years, no one came to Doris Salcedo‘s studio in Bogotá, Colombia, to watch her twist rickety bed frames into haunting sculptures. In Medellín, José Antonio Suárez Londoño worked in similar isolation, filling notebooks with tiny drawings while he listened to gruesome radio reports about cocaine kingpin Pablo Escobar. Farther north, Gabriel Sierra grew up in the lush countryside fearing government soldiers and guerrillas alike, learning nothing about art except what he saw in encyclopedias. And yet still he drew.”
by Kelly Crow
To read more full original article: Colombias Art Scene Heats Up
Editorial:
Kelly Crow’s article is generally true, but of course there are other perhaps more relevant truths to consider. The Colombian art scene, as with others around the world, is often one that only generates a “story” when there is money involved. There is plenty of art in Colombia and as Ms. Crow says, artists will create art whatever the situation of their country or even personal circumstance.
Colombian artists were “discovered” after the country started to receive foreign investment and assistance in the drugs “war”. However, many Colombian artists had made a name inside or outside their countries long before the “major” artists she speaks of.
Contemporary artists like Eivar Moya, Homero Aguilar, Dario Ortíz, Miguel de la Espriella and Heriberto Cogollo have taken their art abroad over many years. Not to mention artists like Grau, Manzur, and Negret….yes, whose fame only require their surname to be mentioned….who over decades had helped form what the Colombian art scene is today…in one way or another.
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