Colombian art Captivates Madrid

The Fusionarte Association, in collaboration with ProColombia opens the exhibition: DIEZ DE CIEN on February 23. It is a bet to make visible the work of international artists whose work is located in the world of art and handicraft and promotes the creation of unique pieces, result of an exercise of reflection around the identity of the guest country at ARCO2015. Ten artists like Catalina Estrada, Federico Uribe, Ana Sarmiento and Silvia Tcherassi plus ten winner objects will be seen at the Casa de América, as a prelude to the beginning of the fair.

They have the winners of DIEZ DE CIEN, a call for the creation of an artistic object around the Colombian identity. Of 50 participants who have submitted to the first edition, the jury, which is made up of Ana Milena Celis (Manos a la obra), Ana Maria Fries (AXXIS magazine Director), Aída Furmanski (Crafts General Manager in Colombia), Maria Paz Gaviria (ArtBo Director), José Darío Gutiérrez (creator and Director of Bachué project), Claudia Hakim (artist and Director of NC-art), and Jose Pablo Arango Calle (Pais brand manager. Procolombia) has selected the ten winning artistic projects.

"The exhibition will bring to the public parts of contemporary artists in order to promote new ways of collecting around experimental works -unpublished or with limited edition, appealing to the most emotional aspect of everyday objects surround us" says Verónica Durán, Fusionarte Association president.

For María Claudia Lacouture, President of ProColombia: "This exhibition and the participation of Colombia in ARCO, after seven years a Latin American country was invited to this fair, is an example of the significance that the Colombian culture and art has gained on the world stage". And she added: "our country internationally stands out to host big artistic events like ArtBo, International Biennial of Contemporary Art, the National Salon of Artists, Art in Public Space in Barranquilla, Odeon, among others. Likewise, only referring to Bogota, the city has over 60 galleries and 58 museums driving the artistic culture of the country ".

These are the ten artists and art objects that have been winners:

"PetLamp" by Alvaro Catalan de Ocon. The PET Lamp are made of plastic bottles recovered from the streets of Bogota and created with great skill with tea straw by artisans from Cauca dispersed through the guerrillas in Bogota.

"Homenaje a Colombia" by Carlos Torio. Ceremonial fabrics reminding us the first seed of the coffee plantation collected with sweat and risk by the men.

"Clutch Wayuu" by Silvia Tcherassi. A unique piece made by indigenous women from the Wayuu in Guajira community and intervened.

"Earth forest" by Jorge Lizarazo. The weave refers as a journey through our country, where biodiversity, colors, textures are present as well as residents of the regions where the thread we use for weaving come from as well as the different ways to do it.

" A orillas del Guaviare " by Catalina Estrada, a project in which flora and fauna are the main source of inspiration to build a universe based on the simplicity of beauty and its vision on the domesticated nature.

"Flor" Federico Uribe, a project focusing on flowers as the fifth line of export in Colombia.

" Pequeños dignatarios " by Nadin Ospina, a project that have a bearing especially on the criticism of the topical views and stereotypes that are applied to Colombia from outside. With a great intensity of plastic synthesis, it is revealed how the clichés and stereotypes that are disfiguring contaminate everything, even the supposedly more innocent: the universe of toys, in which, the people since their childhood create and form a conception of the world...

"Emeralds" by Adriana Roa, is a project elated to the most important areas for exploitation of emeralds in that country. Brightness and the spectacular nature of the Colombian Emerald are preceded by the hard work of the miners. It is an arduous task which, it is believed, has a prior history to the existence of Jesus Christ, when the ancestors explored the mountains to provide the findings to their gods.

" Encuentro de dos Mundos " by Paloma Castello, a project in which she explores through her work with mirrors as symbols of identity, the set of traits of other cultures which form part of the Colombian identity.

"Oro Supreme " by Ana Sarmiento. Inspired by the colors of the Pacific Arlequin frog, the piece is a reflection of the pre-Columbian traditions of the inhabitants from the Sierra Nevada de Santa Maria

About Fusionarte

The Fusionarte  Asociation is created in 2007 in Madrid. Since it was creted it is featured by a strong social commitment and with a singular vocation for work in favor of the general interest. It is convinced that the art and culture are powerful tools to foster the people’s comprehensive development. Fusionarte promotes the integration of the migrants, their development and the co-evolution in Latina America through cultural and artistic projects, ad of different publications, which are seeking for the sensibility of the population in general. The Fusionarte  work is reflected in the different projects it manages and that are the following: Mimarte, Nuevos Rostros de Madrid, 100 Latinos, 100 Latinos Miami, Un hecho, tres miradas, Un Hogar Lejos de la Patria, A Ambos Lados del Ecuador, 100 Colombianos, 100 Mexicanos and 100 Españoles.