Artvisor’s latest exhibition, Rarities, opens in London on 9th April. Featuring a body of newly commissioned works by Santiago Reyes Villaveces (b. 1986, Bogotà) and curated by Piero Tomassoni, the exhibition is the first of a series of three exhibitions by the artist, opening this month in London, Venice, and Medellin.
Villaveces’ work examines various knowledge systems aimed at controlling and exploiting nature, in this instance focusing on minerals and their role in social and political dynamics, starting from his native Colombia all the way to space exploration and colonisation. He has long been interested in the idea of rarity by looking at objects very near and very far. Celestial bodies, particularly the Moon, and gold nuggets from his native Colombia are source materials for the artist’s laborious and precious drawings, whose many layers determine their sculptural quality. Indeed, every work in the exhibition is at once a drawing and an object, with an intricate and obsessive etching technique recurring throughout different series and types of work, from the map-like Meanders, presented here for the first time, to the alien-like Parasite, inspired by Lygia Clark’s ‘Bichos’.
The series Fiebre and Moon Rock exemplifies the well-known proximity between the infinitely large and the infinitely small on a journey from the depths of the Amazon Forest to moon craters and back to Earth through the lunar relics gifted by US presidents as a ‘goodwill’ gesture In both cases, the rarity of the materials determines their mystique and their highly symbolic value in all contexts. Rarity has always been a distinctive element in the realm of art. From rare metals and ground minerals used by artists to produce bright and precious colours to the idea of artworks as unique objects, brought to light and interpreted by scholars, rendered valuable by connoisseurs, and coveted and preserved by collectors and museums.
Gold is the symbol of all that is valuable and rare, while the Moon is that place which is far enough to be unreachable and magical but close enough to seem tangible and somewhat familiar. Both are what dreams, fantasies, and poems are made of. In Rarities, a snake-like creature (titled Bird, reminding us of the common ancestry between reptiles and avians) hangs from the ceiling as the only organic form in the exhibition, guarding the entrance with a menacing eye and reminding us that, beyond the scientific and political discourse, a dose of ancient, ancestral mystery lies behind and within each artwork.
Santiago Reyes Villaveces (b. 1986, Colombia) is known for exploring sculptural and post-sculptural processes. His diverse practice includes installations (large-scale and site-specific), sculptures, drawings, prints, archival fiction, and performative actions, all of which foster speculative relations across a myriad of materials. Reyes Villaveces' overarching oeuvre is deeply rooted in an examination of knowledge systems utilized to control and colonize nature, often employing site-responsive elements to transform, determine, and modify the spaces they inhabit. He regards these forms as potent techniques for engaging with contemporary systems of power and their material manifestations.
In his latest projects, Reyes Villaveces demonstrates a keen interest in the contemporary exploration of space, offering reflective insights into the constraints of extractivism and the sustenance of life forms, both terrestrial and extraterrestrial. His work has garnered international acclaim and has been featured in prominent exhibitions and collections worldwide.
Reyes Villaveces earned his MA in Sculpture from the Royal College of Art in London in 2017 with the prestigious Abraaj Innovation Scholarship. Throughout his illustrious career, he has received numerous awards, including the Matteo Olivero Award in 2019, where he was nominated by Italian curator Eugenio Viola. In 2019, Reyes Villaveces won the Leonardo - -Arizona State University and the Center for Science and Imagination 2023 Fellowship.
Selected Exhibitions
Museum of Modern Art Pereira, Colombia (2023); Alessandro Casciaro Gallery, Bolzano (2023); Instituto de Visión Gallery, Bogotá (2022); Baluarte de Santa Catalina, Cartagena (2022); Contemporary Gallery, Milan (2022); Casanova Gallery, Sao Paulo (2022); Galleria d’Arte Moderna Torino, Turin (2020-2021); Museum of Modern Art Bogota (2021); Madragoa Gallery, Milan (2020—2021); Bogota Planetarium, Colombia (2019); Alessandro Casciaro Gallery, Basel (2019); Sacristy of the Church of Sant’Ignazio, Saluzzo (2019); Instituo de Visión Gallery, Bogota (2019); Frieze, Instituto de Visión Gallery, London (2017); Alessandro Casciaro Gallery, Bolzano (2017); Degree Show Royal College of Art, London (2017); Solo Show Art Dubai, Gallerie MLF| Marie-Laure Fleisch, Dubai (2017); Liste Art Fair, Instituto de Visión Gallery, Basel (2017).
Exhibition Information
Santiago Reyes Villaveces. Rarities curated by Piero Tomassoni
09 April until June 2024, Mayfair, London
For more information: office@artvisor.com