José Antonio Suárez Londoño

Un poquito de todo

23 Nov 2024 - 21 Dec 2024
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‘Un poquito de todo’ by renowned Colombian draughtsman José Antonio Suárez Londoño brings together six distinct series of drawings created over more than two decades, from 1998 to 2019. The exhibition showcases the rich diversity of Suárez Londoño’s practice and offers a broad look into his evolving visual language and introspective artistic journey.

Born in 1955 in Medellín, Colombia, Suárez Londoño graduated in biology from the Universidad de Antioquia before moving to Geneva, where he studied fine arts at the École Supérieure d’Art Visuel, graduating in 1984. His early background in biology is integral to his art, evident in his intricate drawings of plants, animals, and anatomical studies. However, his practice extends far beyond biological themes, embracing portraits, landscapes, geometric shapes, and a diverse assortment of everyday objects. This eclectic array is reflective of the artist’s encyclopaedic knowledge and his attentive, self-observing process, which he has honed for nearly 40 years.

At the core of Suárez Londoño’s practice is a distinctive creative ritual that began in the mid-1990s. During a stay in Florida, he encountered Brian Eno’s book ‘A Year with Swollen Appendices’, inspiring him to adopt a notepad, a marker, and a book as his primary tools. Through this diaristic method, Suárez Londoño has since filled hundreds of notebooks, transforming his daily life and readings into detailed, visually poetic records. His works, a blend of diary and sketchbook, reflect a graphic autobiography that captures time in a “poetic cosmology” – a phrase often used to describe his unique worldview.

Suárez Londoño’s works are internationally celebrated and housed in prestigious collections like MoMA in New York, the Albertina Museum in Vienna, MOCA in Los Angeles, and the Colección de Arte del Banco de la República in Bogotá. His prolific career has included participation in major art exhibitions, including the São Paulo Biennial and the Venice Biennale, underscoring his influential presence in contemporary art.

‘Un poquito de todo’ invites visitors to immerse themselves in the expansive visual world of Suárez Londoño. Each series displayed is a chapter in a lifelong narrative, chronicling the artist’s engagement with literature, memory, and the objects of daily life.

Works

pied-à-terre
noun; plural des pied-à-terre
UK/piˌeɪ.dætˈeər/US/piˌeɪ.dætˈer/

French: a small house or apartment in a city that you own or rent in addition to your main home, where you stay when visiting that city for a short time;

Unlike a classic gallery, the pied-à-terre offers more than just a place to display art—it’s a creative foothold for experimentation and collaboration. Borrowing its name from the French term for a "temporary home," this dynamic space invites artists and galleries to step beyond traditional boundaries and explore new territories. With a constantly evolving programme, pied-à-terre combines the fresh voices of emerging artists with a reimagining of historically significant positions, fostering a lively exchange between creators and the public. It’s a place where art is not simply shown, but actively discovered, experienced and transformed.

pied-à-terre
Mommsenstr. 4
10623 Berlin
mail@the-piedaterre.com

Thu – Sat: 11 am – 6 pm
and by appointment