‘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.