THE OTHER FORMS OF ABSTRACTION IN LATIN AMERICA
The section dedicated to abstraction in the Strangers Everywhere / Stranieri Ouvunque exhibition at the Venice Biennale 2024 explores how artists from the Global South -particularly those from Latin America- pursued less rigorous forms, undulating lines and a vibrant color palette stemming from references of their own.
The abstraction section at the Venice Biennale 2024 becomes a space to rediscover the cultural and political value of abstraction in the Global South. In the hands of artists such as Eduardo Terrazas, Marco Ospina, Margarita Azurdia and Rubem Valentim, a new arrival to local imaginaries is sought.
Latin America developed patterns that not only replicated the geometric proposals of European modernism, but reformulated them from a culturally hybrid perspective. An organic and vibrant palette with an exploration of artisanal processes synthesized a reflection of the contrasts and tensions of their environments.
These visual characteristics were not arbitrary, but responded to a rich visual heritage that integrated elements of indigenous cosmovisions, folklore and popular culture. For example, the geometric patterns in Mayan or Andean textiles served as inspiration for many artists, who found in them a direct link to artisanal traditions and a cultural legacy that integrated the visual and the symbolic.
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Eduardo Terrazas 1.1.91, 1970-72 Wool threads on a wooden board covered with Campeche wax 121 × 121 cm. Esposizione Internazionale d’Arte - La Biennale di Venezia, Stranieri Ovunque – Foreigners Everywhere. Photo Matteo de Mayda
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Marco Ospina Abstracto, n.d. Oil on canvas 110 × 90 cm Proyecto Bachue Collection. 60th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia, Stranieri Ovunque – Foreigners Everywhere. Photo: Matteo de Mayda
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Margarita Azurdia Untitled, from the series Geométricas, 1976 Acrylic on canvas 218 × 162 cm. Asociación Milagro de Amor / Collection Margarita Azurdia. 60th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia, Stranieri Ovunque – Foreigners EverywhereI. Photo: Andrea Avezzù
Eduardo Terrazas explores geometry with circular compositions of chromatic contrasts. In addition, his works have the added complexity of texture as they are made with handcrafted materials and techniques.
Marco Ospina, on the other hand, represents a generation of Colombian artists who embraced abstraction in a context where figurative art and social realism dominated the scene. The artist incorporated subtle references to the landscape and natural forms that surrounded his environment. The deep connection to the land, colors and textures of Colombia remains.
Guatemalan artist Margarita Azurdia intertwines politics and culture. Mayan huipiles -traditional fabrics that women create and wear as an expression of cultural identity- are present, along with fields of flat color and geometric shapes. A priori seen as an apolitical language, abstractionism acquires a militant dimension in her work as the artist reinterprets its forms from a search for identity.
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Rubem Valentim. 60th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia, Stranieri Ovunque – Foreigners Everywhere. Photo Matteo de Mayda
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Rubem Valentim. 60th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia, Stranieri Ovunque – Foreigners Everywhere. Photo Matteo de Mayda
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Rubem Valentim. 60th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia, Stranieri Ovunque – Foreigners Everywhere. Photo Matteo de Mayda
Candomblé appears in the compositions of Brazilian Rubem Valentim, referring to a sacred alphabet, a symbolic invocation. There is spirituality and religion in the repetition and order of forms; it is precisely this that renders them sacred.
The autonomous and plural vision is manifested in this section of the Historical Nucleus to represent new cosmovisions, honor the richness of its contexts and appropriate and project new meanings.
May interest you
WATER, CYCLES AND TRANSFORMATION AT THE VENICE BIENNALE
The 2024 Venice Biennale has taken a profound interest on cyclical themes, with water emerging as a dominant motif across exhibitions. In resonance to Pedrosa’s title for this year ‘Stranieri Ovunque’, we see water as a dominant locus for the subjects of travel, shared heritage and fluctuation. On itself, water is seen (as both a vital resource and a destructive force) at the heart of the pavilions representing Greece, France, and in Otero Torres’ Arsenale installation, Aguacero. These exhibitions delve into water’s duality: as a life-giver and a potential destroyer, as a symbol of both division and connection.
POSSIBLE FUTURES AT THE VENICE BIENNALE
The Venice Biennale 2024 offers an exceptional platform for examining the challenges and opportunities facing the future. The pavilions of Japan, Germany, Switzerland and Hungary trace different forms of looking at and thinking about the world to come, projecting visions of the environment, equilibrium, adaptation, world order and, of course, collective memory.
LA CHOLA POBLETE IN MILÁN – THE EXHIBITION “GUAYMALLÉN” ARRIVES AT MUDEC
MUDEC in Milan presented the exhibition Guaymallén, by Argentinian artist La Chola Poblete, winner in 2023 of the prestigious international “Artist of the Year” award dedicated by the Deutsche Bank to contemporary art, and who was recently celebrated with a special mention for her contribution to the 60th International Art Exhibition of the Venice Biennale. The exhibition is curated by Britta Färber, Global Head of Art & Culture at the Bank.
ONCE WARHOL’S MUSE, NOW FORGOTTEN IN TIME: MARISOL ESCOBAR
In April 2022, my family suggested we attend the opening of an exhibition by Marisol Escobar, a French-Venezuelan artist whose name was vaguely familiar to me. I wasn’t particularly excited, but wanting to spend time with them, I agreed to go. Little did I know that this visit would leave an incredible mark on me.
A GUIDE FOR PRACTICING DISOBEDIENCE
Disobedience Archive is a video archive project in constant transformation, linking artistic practices and political action. At the Venice Biennale exhibition, it takes the form of The Zoentrope, a pre-cinematographic machine that gives life to a space that generates new perspectives.
