{:es}En Bogotá nace una nueva propuesta de pequeño formato que logra acaparar a grandes representantes del arte contemporáneo del país y, en su primera versión, trajo como país invitado a Chile.
Por Sandra Fernández / Colombia.
El crecimiento del arte en Colombia ha dejado de lado la ignorancia cultural; su extensión ha cubierto los rincones y principalmente los de su capital. La ciudad de Bogotá ahora se ilumina de arte, de propuestas distintas, de artistas que van más allá de la imaginación, de gestores que le apuestan a la creación humana con un cierto grado de memoria, de inspiración entre lo real y lo sensorial.
La razón por la cual emerge el arte en una nación con una cotidianidad devastada de temor, inseguridad y pobreza, no es sino por el concepto de su situación, es decir, los artistas y amantes del arte logran sacar a flote sus emociones a través de él, de lo que produce, de quien lo produce, de las razones por la obra creada, son más que excusas para vivir el arte porque simplemente está adherido a la actualidad social.
María Eugenia Trujillo
Es así que dentro de la oferta del mercado empiezan a surgir las ferias de arte. ARTBO inicia como la primera feria más grande en el país, con una oferta que abarca a varios territorios del mundo, pero, por otro lado, las ferias alternativas logran surgir con propuestas distintas que salen un poco de ese formato formal de esta primera feria. Como dijo alguna vez el curador Jaime Cerón, en una entrevista en un medio colombiano, en 2007: “Es sano que exista una polifonía en la forma de acercar a la gente al arte. Si una feria no cubre las necesidades del público, las alternas se encargan de hacerlo”.
En la actualidad se van sumando a la lista de eventos que utilizan el formato de feria en la capital colombiana. Odeón, Barcú, La feria del millón se añade a este tipo de eventos para ofrecer diferentes propuestas de arte. Pero este año nació una nueva opción, Artchicó, que se pondría en la lista como la alternativa de feria en el norte de la ciudad.
La propuesta de esta feria va más allá de comercializar la obra de artistas; se fija en poner a disposición a los coleccionistas y públicos interesados a una variedad de artistas que no pertenecen a ninguna galería, las que no cumplen su rol de expositores sino que son los artistas quienes explican, narran y muestran su trabajo como propios exponentes del arte.
María Lucía Díaz
Esta es una opción que cambia el papel de los galeristas ya que son los artistas quienes se toman la molestia de representarse a sí mismos, se trata de cierta independencia en donde habla su obra y no el lugar en donde se encuentre su trabajo artístico.
Además de encontrar más de treinta artistas dentro de la feria, el evento fija un espacio a obras emblemáticas dentro del arte colombiano y en esta primera versión trajo a representantes del arte chileno, dando como resultado a tres secciones en las que se establece Artchicó: Grandes maestros, curado por el crítico de arte colombiano Álvaro Barrios; el pabellón de arte contemporáneo, curada por el crítico colombo-inglés Ramiro Camelo y el curador norteamericano Jim Peele; y la sección que tiene como país invitado a Chile, curado por el crítico chileno Ernesto Muñoz.
Las obras dentro de la feria daban cierto sentido a cómo se mostraba la naturaleza, la sociedad y los efectos del mundo contemporáneo que fueron visibilizados a través de los ojos de artistas como Felipe Echeverry, quien a través de unas imágenes del cerebro como si fueran radiografías evidencia el control del consumo capitalista; por su parte el artista Carlos Zárrate impacta con su obra basada en la fotografías del cielo, las nubes creando cúmulos que se transforman en cada obra pero que para el artista representan el mismo cielo, el no espacio.
Felipe Echeverry
El siguiente espacio tuvo representaciones de cierta manera sociales, con las grandiosas obras de la artista colombiana Gloria Erazo sobre la mujer y el papel en la sociedad, o el trabajo del artista Omar Castañeda basado en fotografías y pequeños bocetos de obras icónicas que representan una sociedad consumista, combinándolo con el oro y pedazos de latas. En la siguiente sección sobresale la obra de Adrián Ibañez con sus Historias mínimas, pequeñas instalaciones que representan fragmentos mínimos de las posibilidades vivenciales.
La variedad en lo presentado en la feria logra evidenciar el trabajo arduo de cada artista, poniéndolo por encima de cualquier burocracia tanto nacional como internacional. Artchicó promete convertirse en un espacio cultural en el norte de la ciudad, una feria hecha para artistas y coleccionistas que prefieren lo independiente y alternativo.{:}{:en}A new proposal for a small-scale art fair has born in the city of Bogota. It has already caught, in its first edition, and with Chile as its guest, the attention of many renowned national contemporary artists.
By Sandra Fernández / Colombia.
The growth of art in Colombia has left aside its cultural benightedness; it spreads itself throughout every nook and corner of the State, but mainly throughout its capital Bogota. The capital is now enlightened by art and by a mixture of artistic designs that go beyond our imagination, but it is also filled with the presence of art managers who are committed to the creation of an art based upon memory and upon the inspiration of what is sensory and what is real.
Art here arises from a nation stroked by an overwhelming fear within its daily life and also by the insecurity and the impoverishment of its people. Artists and art enthusiasts push their emotions into the open while being in touch with the world of art, that is, with what is produced, with those who brings them into production, and with the grounds on which such artworks were firstly produced. These are just some of many reasons why we relate to art, for the experience of art is always connected to the experience of our social reality.
María Eugenia Trujillo
So it is how art fairs begin to be included in the art market’s platform. ARTBO started as the first and largest art fair in the country that had offerings that covered a large scope of worldwide regions. Alternative art fairs were created then as a novel proposal that slightly deviated from the conventional format offered by the former. As the curator Jaime Cerón once said, in an interview published by a Colombian magazine (Arcadia, Oct. 2007): “It is healthy to have many ways of bringing people closer to art. If an art fair does not meet the needs of the public, the other ones should be then responsible in doing so.”
There are currently several events in the capital that makes use of this art fair system. For instance, there are some alternative art fairs as Odeón, Barcú and La Feria del Millón. And in addition to these, there is also the new proposal regarding alternative art fairs known as ArtChicó that has been presented for the first time during this year on the north side of the city.
This art fair has been designed not only for the marketing of the artists’ artworks; but also for making available —to collectors and art enthusiasts— a variety of artists that are not being currently represented by any gallery. So here the artists are those who explain, narrate and display their own work, as promoters and representatives of themselves.
María Lucía Díaz
It is an option that changes the galleries role; here the artists are those who make the effort to represent themselves before the public. Here the artists gain certain independence that gives them the possibility to speak freely about their work and without the restrictions that are placed by the locations where their artworks are being held.
In addition of hosting more than thirty artists, the art fair had also designated a special section that featured exclusively the exhibition of the most iconic works of art from the Colombian art scene. For its first edition, it had also designated another section for the exhibition of Chilean art. The art fair itself was divided into three main sections: Great Masters, curated by the Colombian art critic Álvaro Barrios; the Hall of Contemporary Art, curated by the English-Colombian critic Ramiro Camelo and the North American curator Jim Peele; and, last but not least, the section that had Chile as its main guest, curated by the Chilean critic Ernesto Muñoz.
The artworks exhibited at the art fair focused on an array of themes, such as nature, society and the effects of the contemporary world. These themes were addressed by the artist Felipe Echeverry, who, by using scan-like images of the brain, brought into the light of day the control mechanism of capitalist consumption. For its part, the artist Carlos Zárrate featured an eye-catching artwork consisting of pictures of the sky and of cloud clusters that varied between each of its representations; for the artist, these images represent one same sky, but not one same location.
Felipe Echeverry
Artworks with social connotations were presented in the following section: as the inspiring artworks of the Colombian artist Gloria Erazo that dealt mainly with the image of women and their role in society; and as also the ones of Omar Castañeda, which consisted on photographs of small sketches of iconic artworks —related to the representation of the consumer society— that were mixed with gold and pieces of can. In a further section, stood out Adrian Ibañez’s artwork entitled «Minimal stories», which consisted of small installations that represented the smallest fragments that make up our living experience.
The variety of artworks presented at this art fair brings into light the effort behind the work of each artist, placing them above either national or international bureaucracy. ArtChicó holds the prospect of becoming a cultural center for the north side of the city. It is an art fair made for artists and art collectors who prefer independent and alternative artworks.{:}
