Born in 1947 in Medellín, Colombia
Lives and works in Bogotá, Colombia
Juan Manuel Echavarría
Juan Manuel Echavarría achieves presence (of Colombia’s precarious situation) through absence (of explicit pictorial material). He often makes use of metaphor as well to make his Colombian subject matter universally applicable. The precise, condensed stylistic means allow the penny to drop for the viewer only on closer inspection.
The effects of violence can be depicted more strikingly than violence itself as demonstrated by the video Bocas de ceniza (Mouths of Ash): Colombians who have been witness to terrible massacres sing simple songs of their experiences. This cathartic, self-therapeutic act takes place with such intense concentration and such startling frankness that the psyches of the performers are laid entirely bare. The almost unbearable presence of their eyes and voices permits us to become intimately involved, even though we never learn any of the details.
The social relation of two parrots in the video Guerra y pa’ (War and Peace) becomes a persuasive symbol of human coexistence. In Bandeja de Bolívar (Bolívar’s Platter), a hymn to his homeland is transformed step by step into a small pile of cocaine. In the series Corte de florero (Flower vase cut), exotic plants that appear to have been taken from nineteenth-century botanical encyclopedias suddenly turn out to be human bones…
Hans-Michael Herzog
Memory and resistance to oblivion in Colombian contemporary art. Diálogo. An interdisciplinary Studies Journal. Vol. 22, no. 2, fall 2019. Austin, University of Texas Press, 2019. Edited by María del Rosario Acosta López
Juan Manuel Echavarría. Works. Edited by Daniel Ernesto Schmeichler. With a conversation between Thomas Girst and the artist. Barcelona, RM Verlag / Paris, Toluca Éditions, 2018.
Thomas Fischer/Susanne Klengel/Eduardo Pastrana Buelvas (Eds). Kolumbien heute. Politik – Wirtschaft – Kultur. Frankfurt am Main, Vervuert, 2017.
Video Art in Latin America. Exhibition brochure, Laxart, Los Angeles, USA, September 17 - December 16, 2017 (part of Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA). With texts by Glenn Philipps and Elena Shtromberg. Los Angeles, Laxart, 2017.
Amirsadeghi, Hossein (ed.). Contemporary art Colombia. With texts by Christine Barthe, and Jaime Cerón. London, Thames & Hudson, 2016.
Doris Salcedo. The materiality of mourning. Exhibition catalogue, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, November 4, 2016 - April 9, 2017. With texts by Mary Schneider Enriquez, Narayan Khandekar, and the artist. Cambridge, MA, Harvard Art Museums, 2016.
Colección Daros Latinamerica. Fundación Proa, Buenos Aires, Argentina. July - September 2015. With texts by Rodrigo Alonso, Katrin Steffen, Hans-Michael Herzog (et. al.). Buenos Aires, Fundación Proa, 2015.
Dark Mirror. Art from Latinamerica since 1968. Works from the Daros Latinamerica Collection. Exhibition catalogue, Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg, Wolfsburg, Germany, September 26, 2015 - January 31, 2016. Edited by Ralf Beil and Holger Broeker. Wolfsburg, Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg, 2015.
Dark Mirror. Lateinamerikanische Kunst seit 1968. Werke aus der Daros Latinamerica Collection. Exhibition catalogue, Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg, Wolfsburg, Germany, September 26, 2015 - January 31, 2016. Edited by Ralf Beil and Holger Broeker. Wolfsburg, Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg, 2015.
Rosauro Ruiz, Elena. Historia y violencia en el Sur americano. Prácticas artísticas, 1992-2012. Tesis doctoral. Madrid, Universidad Autónoma, 2015.
América Latina 1960-2013. Fotos y textos. Exhibition catalogue, Fondation Cartier, Paris, France, November 19, 2013 - April 6, 2014, Museo Amparo, Puebla, Mexico, May 24 - September 29, 2014. With texts by Olivier Compagnon, Luis Camnitzer, and Alfonso Morales Carrillo. Puebla, Museo Amparo, 2014.
Contraexpediciones. Más allá de los mapas. Catálogo. Exhibition catalogue, Museo de Antioquia, Medellín, Colombia, April 8 - July 2, 2014. With texts by Carolina Chacón. Medellín, Museo de Antioquia, 2014.
Realidades en conflicto = Realities in conflict. Exhibition catalogue, Espacio ArtNexus, Bogotá, Colombia, June 12 - September 9, 2014. With texts by Francine Birbragher, and Oscar Roldán-Alzate. Bogotá, Arte en Colombia, 2014.
Aliento. Arte de Colombia. Zeitgenössische Kunst aus Kolumbien. Exhibition catalogue, Kunstmuseum Bochum, Germany, November 23, 2013 - February 2, 2014. With texts by Hans Günter Golinski, Sarah Poppel (et al.). Bochum, Kunstmuseum, 2013.
Aliento. Arte de Colombia. Zeitgenössische Kunst aus Kolumbien. Exhibition catalogue, Kunstmuseum Bochum, Germany, November 23, 2013 - February 2, 2014. With texts by Hans Günter Golinski, Sarah Poppel (et al.). Bochum, Kunstmuseum, 2013.
América Latina 1960-2013. Photographs. Exhibition catalogue, Fondation Cartier, Paris, France, November 19, 2013 - April 6, 2014, Museo Amparo, Puebla, Mexico, May 24 - September 29, 2014. With texts by Olivier Compagnon, Luis Camnitzer, and Alfonso Morales Carrillo. Paris, Fondation Cartier, 2013.
Cantos Cuentos Colombianos. Arte contemporânea colombiana. Exhibition catalogue, Casa Daros, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil, March 23 - September 8, 2013. With interviews with the artists by Hans-Michael Herzog. Rio de Janeiro, Cobogó, 2013.
Nocturnes de Colombie. Images contemporaines. Exhibition catalogue, Musée du Quai Branly, Paris, September 17, 2013 - February 2, 2014. With texts by Thomas Jean, Rafael Pic, Clement Gagliano (et al.). Paris, Musée du Quai Branly, 2013.
Roca, José, and Sylvia Suárez. Transpolítico. Arte en Colombia 1992-2012 = Transpolitical art in Colombia 1992-2012. Barcelona and Madrid, Lunwerg, 2012.
crisisss... América Latina, arte y confrontación. 1920-2010. Exhibition catalogue, Museo del Palacio de Bellas Artes, Mexico City, March 12 - June 5, 2011. With texts by Gerardo Mosquera, Luis Camnitzer, Aracy Amaral, Karen Cordero Reiman (et al.). Mexico City, Museo del Palacio de Bellas Artes, 2012.
8a Bienal do Mercosul. Ensaios de geopoética. Exhibition catalogue, Bienal do mercosul, Porto Alegre, Brazil, 2011. With texts by José Roca (et al.) www.bienalmercosul.art.br/uploads/pdf/catalogo_8_bienal_mercosul.pdf. Porto Alegre, Fundação Bienal do Mercosul, 2011.
Garzón, Diego. De lo que somos. 110 obras para acercarse al arte contemporáneo colombiano. Barcelona, Lunwerg, 2011.
Polit Dueños, Gabriela. Meanings of violence in contemporary Latin America. New York, Palgrave Macmillan, 2011.
Changing the Focus: Latin American Photography 1990-2005. Exhibition catalogue, Museum of Latin American Art, Long Beach, California, February 14 - May 2, 2010. With texts by Cecilia Fajardo-Hill (et al.). Long Beach, California, Museum of Latin American Art MoLAA, 2010.
Fast forward 2. The power of motion. Media art Sammlung Goetz. ZKM Museum für Neue Kunst, Karlsruhe, Germany, June 18 - October 3, 2010. With texts by Ingvild Goetz, Peter Weibel, Susanne Touw, Claudia Seelmann (et al.). Ostfildern, Hatje Cantz, 2010.
Giraldo, Efrén. Los límites del índice. Imagen fotográfica y arte contemporáneo en Colombia. Medellín, La Carreta, 2010.
Suárez, Juana. Sitios de contienda: producción cultural colombiana y el discurso de la violencia. Madrid, Iberoamericana Editorial Vervuert, 2010.
La guerra que no hemos visto. Un proyecto de memoria histórica. Proyecto de Juan Manuel Echavarría. Exhibition catalogue, Museo de Arte Moderno, Bogot, Colombia, October 14 - November 15, 2009. With texts by Ana Tiscornia, Gloria Zea, Álvaro Medina (et al.). Bogotá, Fundación Puntos de Encuentro, 2009.
MERA07. Memorias del Encuentro Regional de Arte, Montevideo 2007. Volumen 3. Escenas subregionales. Exhibition catalogue, Montevideo August 8 - September 30, 2007. With texts by Ana Tiscornia, Gustavo Buntinx, Virginia Pérez-Ratton, Ticio Escobar (et al.). Montevideo, Museo Municipal de Bellas Artes Juan Manuel Blanes, 2009.
Colección Anna Gamazo de Abelló. Fotografía Latinoamericana. Una selección / a selection (1895-2008). Collection catalogue. With a text by Alexis Fabry. Mexico City, RM, 2008.
Espacio C. Arte contemporáneo camargo. 2006-2007. Espacio interdisciplinar internacional de arte contemporáneo. Exhibition catalogue, Espacio C, Camargo, Santander, Spain, 2006-2007. With texts by Orlando Britto Jinorio, Carolina Ponce de León (et al.). Camargo, Espacio C, 2008.
Fotofest 2008. Apertura Colombia. Exhibition Catalogue, published in conjunction with the Fotofest 2008 at the Station Museum of Contemporary Art, Houston, Texas, March 8 - May 18, 2008. With an introduction essay by James Harithas. Houston, Texas, Station Museum of Contemporary Art, 2008.
It's not neutral = Ez da neutrala = No es neutral. Exhibition catalogue, Tabakalera, Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain, July 19 - October 5, 2008. With texts by Joxean Muñoz, Luis Camnitzer and Eugenio Valdés Figueroa. Donostia - San Sebastián, Tabakalera, 2008.
Once more, with feeling. Recent photograhy from Colombia. Exhibition catalogue, Impressions Gallery, Bradford, UK, December 14, 2007 - February 3, 2008, The Photographers' Gallery, London, April 17 - June 15, 2008. With texts by Camilla Brown, Pippa Oldfield, Jaime Cerón, and Santiago Rueda Fajardo. London, The Photographers' Gallery, 2008.
Constructing a poetic universe: The Diane and Bruce Halle collection of Latin American Art. Exhibition catalogue, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas, USA, March 11 - June 10, 2007. With texts by Beverly Adams (et al.). London/New York, Merrell Publishers, 2007.
Echavarría, Juan Manuel. Death and the river. Essay and Photographs. In: South America in the 21st Century. Virginia Quarterly Review. Vol. 83, No. 4, Fall 2007, pp. 290-299.
Documentos. La memoria del futuro / Documentuak. Etorkizuneko memoria / Documentos. A memoria do futuro / Documents. The memory of the future. Exhibition catalogue, Koldo Mitxelena Kulturunea, San Sebastián, January 25 - March 17, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo, Vigo, Spain, March 30 - June 24, 2007. With texts by Rosa Olivaresi (et al.). Vigo, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo, 2007.
Public manifestations of Creative Dissent no. 2, Juan Manuel Echavarría. Exhibition catalogue, Malmö Konsthall, Malmö, April 11 - 17, 2007. With a dialogue with the artist, Marianna Garin and Luca Frei. Malmö, Konsthall, 2007.
L'oeil-écran ou la nouvelle image. 100 vidéos pour repenser le monde. Exhibition catalogue, Casino Luxembourg - Forum d'art contemporain, Luxemburg, March 24, 2007 - June 17, 2007.With texts by Régis Michel. Luxembourg, Casino Luxembourg - Forum d'art contemporain, 2007.
Lab. 07. Arte, deshonra y violencia en el contexto iberoamericano. Exhibition catalogue, Centro Cultural España, Montevideo, Uruguay, October - December 2007. With texts by Patricia Bentancur and Luis Camnitzer. Montevideo, Centro Cultural España, 2007.
Machine-Raum. A biennale for video art and digitale culture. Exhibition catalogue, The Spinning Mills and Vejle Museum of Art, Vejle, Denmark, November 8 - December 2, 2007. With texts by Kristine Kern, Hanne Nielson and Birgit Johnsen. Vejle, Quasar, 2007.
Nuevas propuestas. Modalidad. Artes plásticas, fotografía y nuevos medios. 2005, 2006. Exhibition catalogue. Alianza Colombo Francesa, Bogotá, Colombia, 2005-2006. With texts by Jaime Cerón, Michèle Faguet, Eduardo Serrano, María Inés Rodríguez (et al.). Bogotá, Alliance Française, 2007.
Puntos de vista. Zeitgenössische Kunst aus der Daros-Latinamerica Collection. Exhibition catalogue, Museum Bochum, Bochum, Germany, June 2 - August 26, 2007. With texts by Michael Nungesser and a dialogue between Hans Günter Golinski and Hans-Michael Herzog. Bochum, Museum Bochum, 2007.
Situaciones artísticas latinoamericanas II. Arte crítico y crisis del arte. Seminario Internacional. Edited by Virginia Pérez-Ratton and Tamara Díaz Bringas. With texts by José Roca (et al.). San José, Costa Rica, TEOR/e?Tica, 2007.
System error: War is a force that gives us meaning. Exhibition catalogue, Palazzo delle Papesse, Siena, Italy, February 3 - May 6, 2007. With texts by Lorenzo Fusi, Naeem Mohaiemen (et al.). Milan, Silvana Editoriale, 2007.
Viva la muerte. Exhibition catalogue, Kunsthalle Wien, Austria, October 17, 2007 - February 17, 2008; CAAM, Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, April - June 2008. With texts by Thomas Miessgang (et al.). Wien, Kunsthalle Wien, 2007.
Viva la muerte. Exhibition catalogue, Kunsthalle Wien, Austria, October 17, 2007 - February 17, 2008; CAAM, Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, April - June 2008. With texts by Thomas Miessgang (et al.). Wien, Kunsthalle Wien, 2007.
Olivares, Rosa (ed.). 100 artistas Latinoamericanos = 100 Latin American artists. Madrid, Exit, 2006.
ARS 06. Toden tuntu = Sense of the real. Exhibition catalogue, Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma, Helsinki, January 21 - August 27, 2006. Edited by Tuula Karjalainen and Marja Sakari, with texts by Mika Ojakangas (et al.). Helsinki, Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma, 2006.
Biennale cuvée. Weltauswahl der Gegenwartskunst. Exhibition catalogue, O.K Centrum für Gegenwartskunst, Linz, February 10 - April 9, 2006. With texts by Genoveva Rückert (et al.). Linz, O.K Centrum für Gegenwartskunst, 2006.
Certain encounters. Daros-Latinamerica Collection. Exhibition catalogue, Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery, Vancouver, Canada, April 7 - June 4, 2006. With texts by Keith Wallace, Tonel, and Juan A. Gaitán. Vancouver, Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery, 2006.
Fotofest 2006. The earth. Artists responding to violence. Exhibition catalogue, 11th International Biennial of Photography, Houston, Texas, 2006. Edited by Wendy Watriss and Frederick Baldwin. Houston, Texas, Fotofest Inc., 2004.
Los Desaparecidos = The disappeared. Exhibition catalogue, North Dakota Museum of Art, Grand Forks, USA, March 29 - June 5, 2005 and other venues in USA and South America. With texts by Laurel Reuter (et al.). Milan, Charta, 2006.
Mens. Verhaal van een wonde = Mankind. Story of a wound. Exhibition catalogue, Centre for Religious Art and Culture, Catholic University, Leuven, and S.M.A.K., Ghent, Belgium, September 16 - November 19, 2006. With texts by Idalie Vandamme (et al.). Leuven, Centrum voor Religieuze Kunst en Cultuur, 2006.
eva 2006 - give (a)way. Exhibition catalogue, Limerick City Gallery of Art, Limerick, ireland, March 11 - May 21, 2006. With texts by Katerina Gregos (et al.). Oysterhaven, Glandon, 2006.
Contra el olvido. Exposición de fotografía. Exhibition catalogue, Simposio Interacional de Justicia Restaurativa y Paz en Colombia, Cali, February 9, 2005. With texts by María A. Iovino (et al.). Cali, Simposio Internacional de Justicia Restaurativa y Paz en Colombia, 2005.
Juan Manuel Echavarría. Mouths of ash = Bocas de ceniza. Exhibition catalogue, North Dakota Museum of Art, Grand Forks, North Dakota, August 13 - October 16, 2005. With texts by Laurel Reuter (et al.). Milan, Charta, 2005.
La Biennale di Venezia. 51. International art exhibition. Participating countries, collateral events. Published in conjunction with the 51st Venice Biennial, June 12 - November 6, 2005. With a text by Fabrizio Plessi.
La trama e l'ordito. Exhibition catalogue, Pavillion of the Istituto Italo-Latinoamericano at the 51st Venice Biennial, June 12 - November 6, 2005. With texts by Irma Arestizábal and Félix Angel. Venezia, Istituto Veneto di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti, 2005.
Las Horas. Artes Visuales de América Latina contemporánea = The Hours. Visual arts of contemporary Latin America. Exhibition catalogue, Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin, October 5, 2005 - January 15, 2006. With texts by Sebastián López, Eugenio Valdés Figueroa and Hans-Michael Herzog. Zürich, Daros Latinamerica / Ostfildern, Hatje Cantz, 2005.
Cantos Cuentos Colombianos. Arte Colombiano Contemporáneo. Ostfildern-Ruit, Hatje Cantz, 2004.
Malin, Regula. Cantos Cuentos Colombianos. Zeitgenössische Kunst aus Kolumbien. Zürich, Daros Art Education, 2004.
Juan Manuel Echavarría. Guerra y pa y otras series. Exhibition brochure, Sala de Exposiciones El Galpón, Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá, October 13 - November 5, 2004. With tetxs by Ana Tiscornia (et al.). Bogotá, Sala de Exposiciones El Galpón, Universidad de los Andes, 2004.
Juan Manuel Echavarría. La María y otras series. Exhibition brochure, Museo de Arte Moderno La Tertulia, Cali, February - April 2003. With a text by Miguel González. Cali, Museo de Arte Moderno La Tertulia, 2003.
Shadow Festival 4. Documentary film festival 2003. Special films deserve a special context. Catalogue, published in conjunction with the Shadow Festival 4, Amsterdam, 20 - 27. November 2004. With texts by Vilém Flusser (et al.). Amsterdam, Shadow Festival 4, 2003.
Juan Manuel Echavarría. Exhibition catalogue, Ministerio de Educación y Cultura, San José, March 22, - April 20, 2001. With a text by Patricia Bentancur. San José, Ministerio de Educación y Cultura; Embajada de España, 2001.
Historia cosmopolita. Exhibition catalogue, Area de Cultura y Fiestas Mayores, Sevilla, May 2000. With a text by Berta Sichel. Sevilla, Ayuntamento, 2000.
Proyecto pentágono. Investigaciones sobre arte contemporáneo en Colombia. Catalogue, published in conjunction with 5 exhibitions in Colombia. With texts by Miguel Rojas Sotelo (et al.). Santafé de Bogotá, Ministerio de Cultura, 2000.
Arte y violencia en Colombia desde 1948. Exhibition catalogue, Museo de Arte Moderno de Bogotá, May - July 1999. With texts by Álvaro Medina (et al.). Bogotá, Museo de Arte Moderno, 1999.
Power, Kevin. Diálogos iberoamericanos. II simposio internacional. La identidad iberoamericana: modernidad y posmodernidad. Valencia, Generalitat Valenciana, 1999.
Hertz, Betti-Sue. Juan Manuel Echavarría. Escuela nueva. New York, UP & Co., 1999.
Corte de florero. Flower vase cut. Juan Manuel Echavarría. Catalogue, published in conjunction with the exhibition at the B & B International Gallery, New York, 1998. With a text by Ana Tiscornia. New York, The River Press, 1998.
Echavarría, Juan Manuel. Moros en la costa. Bogotá, El Áncora Editores, 1991.
Echavarría, Juan Manuel. La gran catarata. Bogotá, Litografía Arco, 1981.