Ana Belén Cantoni
The Soft Gesture
The Wooden Floor
Santa Ana, California
The Soft Gesture, a commission by the Sayago & Pardon collection, is the title of a large-scale installation by Colombian artist Ana Belén Cantoni, created specifically for The Wooden Floor, Santa Ana, CA. Inspired by the students’ testimonies of how art and dance empower their everyday lives, Cantoni evokes the human body and its potential for individual growth within communal coexistence by the usage of simple materials that remind the cycles and processes of transformation through movement (cloth and wooden clothespins, as well as ink and graphite on cotton). The Soft Gesture is a vision towards the awakening of primal associations and the creation through physical connections.
Download the catalogue here.
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El gesto suave, una comisión de arte de la colección Sayago & Pardon, es el título de la instalación a gran escala de la artista colombiana Ana Belén Cantoni, creada específicamente para The Wooden Floor, una organización sin fines de lucro que capacita a jóvenes de bajos ingresos a través del baile y programas académicos y familiares en Santa Ana, California. Inspirada por los testimonios de los estudiantes sobre cómo el arte y la danza estimulan sus vidas diarias, Cantoni evoca el cuerpo humano y el potencial de crecimiento individual dentro de un entorno comunitario a través de la utilización de materiales comunes (tela y pinzas de madera, así como tinta y grafito sobre papel de algodón) que nos recuerdan los ciclos y procesos de transformación a través del movimiento. El gesto suave sugiere asociaciones primarias por medio del color (rojo y negro) al tiempo de invocar las fuerzas creativas de conexión física y social.
Descarga el catálogo aquí.
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- Ana Belén Cantoni, “The Soft Gesture” installation view with students, The Wooden Floor, Santa Ana, California, USA
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- Ana Belén Cantoni, “The Soft Gesture” installation view, The Wooden Floor, Santa Ana, California, USA
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- Ana Belén Cantoni, “The Soft Gesture” installation view, The Wooden Floor, Santa Ana, California, USA
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- Ana Belén Cantoni, “The Soft Gesture” installation view, The Wooden Floor, Santa Ana, California, USA
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- Ana Belén Cantoni, “The Soft Gesture” installation view, The Wooden Floor, Santa Ana, California, USA
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- Ana Belén Cantoni, “The Soft Gesture” installation view, The Wooden Floor, Santa Ana, California, USA
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- Ana Belén Cantoni, “The Soft Gesture” installation view, The Wooden Floor, Santa Ana, California, USA
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- Ana Belén Cantoni, “The Soft Gesture” installation view, The Wooden Floor, Santa Ana, California, USA
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- Ana Belén Cantoni, “The Soft Gesture” installation view, The Wooden Floor, Santa Ana, California, USA
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- Ana Belén Cantoni, “The Soft Gesture” installation view, The Wooden Floor, Santa Ana, California, USA
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- Ana Belén Cantoni, “The Soft Gesture” (detail of drawing) The Wooden Floor, Santa Ana, California, USA
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- Ana Belén Cantoni, “The Soft Gesture”, Drawing, The Wooden Floor, Santa Ana, California, USA
ARCOmadrid 2014
19–23 February 2014
Halls 7 & 9, Feria de Madrid
Booth 7H02
Madrid, Spain
Abstraction in Action presents its online platform at an institutional booth during the fair, allowing visitors to interact with the database while gaining a deeper understanding of the project and the artists involved. The website will launch a new “Projects” section during the fair, featuring exhibitions, site-specific installations, and events that AIA has produced. Along with that, AIA features new artists:
Leyla Cárdenas (Colombia, 1975), John Mario Ortiz (Colombia, 1973), G. T. Pellizzi (Mexico, 1978), Rosario López Parra (Colombia, 1970), Macaparana (Brazil, 1952), Fidel Sclavo (Uruguay, 1960), KIRIN (Argentina, 1953), Bernardo Corces (Argentina, 1988), Eduardo Santiere (Argentina, 1962), Georgina Santos (Mexico, 1988), Santiago Reyes Villaveces (Colombia, 1986), Rodrigo Sassi (Brazil, 1981), Nicolás Lamas (Peru, 1980), Nicolás Consuegra (Colombia, 1976), María Ezcurra (Argentina, 1973), Jorge Pedro Núñez (Venezuela, 1976), Jaime Ruiz Otis (RUIZCYCLE) (Mexico, 1976), Gabriel Acevedo Velarde (Peru, 1976), Edwin Monsalve (Colombia, 1984), Chiara Banfi (Brazil, 1979), Barbarita Cardozo (Colombia, 1975), Ana Belén Cantoni (Peru, 1983), Óscar Figueroa (Costa Rica, 1986), and Silvana Lacarra (Argentina, 1962)
The core of my work lies in the dichotomy between interior and exterior space. I explore the idea of the urban architectural space as a restraint, one that denies both the body and the landscape. Lately I’ve been analyzing how the monumentality and infinity of landscape can relate to our perceptions of the body. My installations are ephemeral; they are intricate and expansive constructions, impossible geometries that are meant to be broken.
La idea que anima mi trabajo se encuentra en la dicotomía entre espacio interior y exterior, así exploro la arquitectura urbana como una limitación que niega tanto el cuerpo como el paisaje. En mis proyectos más recientes he analizado cómo la monumentalidad y lo ilimitado del paisaje natural pueden relacionarse con nuestras percepciones del cuerpo. Mis instalaciones son efímeras; son intrincadas y expansivas construcciones, geometrías imposibles que habrán de romperse.
Selected Biographical Information
Education / Training
- 2009-2011: Master of Fine Arts, San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco, CA, United States.
- 2002-2007: Bachelor in Fine Arts, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá, Colombia.
Prizes / Fellowships
- 2012: Beca para residencia artística, Banff Centre-Ministerio de Cultura, Banff Centre, Ministerio de Cultura, Banff, Bogotá, Canada/Colombia.
- 2010: Phelan, Murphy and Cadogan Fellowship, San Francisco Foundation, San Francisco, CA, United States.
- 2008: Beca Fulbright -Ministerio de Cultura para artistas, Fulbright, Ministerio de Cultura, Bogotá, Colombia.
- 2007: BFA with Honors/ Grado de Honor, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá, Colombia.
Solo Exhibitions
- 2015: “The Soft Gesture“, The Wooden Floor – Sayago&Pardon, Santa Ana, United States.
- 2015: “El gesto fuerte, el gesto suave. Estructuras blandas y transformaciones“, Centro Cultural Británico, Lima, Perú.
Group Exhibitions
- 2014: “Después de lo anterior“, Galería Santa Fé, Bogotá, Colombia.
- 2014: “Tránsitos y articulaciones”, Galería Club El Nogal, Bogotá, Colombia.
- 2013: “Nuevos Nombres”, Banco de la República, Bogotá, Colombia.
- 2013: “Periscopio”, Banco de la República, Bogotá, Colombia.
- 2012: “Especies de Espacios”, Galería Club El Nogal, Bogotá, Colombia.
- 2011: “Gridlock“, AC Institute , New York, NY, United States.
- 2011: “Numina Femenina“, Consulate General of Mexico, San Francisco, CA, United States.
- 2011: “Liminal Takes“, Mission Cultural Center, San Francisco, CA, United States.
- 2011: “Artecámara 2011“, ARTBO, Bogotá, Colombia.
- 2010: “Chicas Chicas Chicas”, Art Museum of the Americas, Washington, D.C., United States.
- 2010: “Spoon full of sugar “, Kitsch Gallery, San Francisco, CA, United States.
- 2009: “Chicas, chicas, chicas”, Cámara de Comercio, Sede Kennedy, Bogotá, Colombia.
Collections
- Museo del Banco de la República, Bogotá, Colombia.
- Sayago & Pardon Collection, CA, USA.
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- Ana Belén Cantoni, “Caja, dibujo sobre pared”, 2011, Series: Dibujos sobre pared, Yarn, staples and red chalk on wall, 60 x 50 cm.
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- Ana Belén Cantoni, “Caja, dibujo sobre pared” (detail), 2011, Series: Dibujos sobre pared, Yarn, staples and red chalk on wall, 60 x 50 cm.
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- Ana Belén Cantoni, “Línea horizontal, dibujo sobre pared”, 2011, Series: Dibujos sobre pared, Yarn, staples and red chalk on wall, 22 cm x 8,8m cm. Site-specific project. Location: AC Institute, New York, NY, United States.
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- Ana Belén Cantoni, “Mine “, 2011, Red coats frayed, thread and staples, 39 x 167 x 518 cm. Site-specific project. Location: AC Institute, New York, NY, United States.
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- Ana Belén Cantoni, “Mine” (detail), 2011, Red coats frayed, thread and staples, 39 x 167 x 518 cm. Site-specific project. Location: AC Institute, New York, NY, United States.
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- Ana Belén Cantoni, “EStructura de crecimiento rizomático III”, 2013, Pieces of bed sheets, safety pins, and wooden pegs, Variable dimensions.
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- Ana Belén Cantoni, “Estructura de crecimiento rizomático III”, 2011, Pieces of bed sheets, safety pins, and wooden pegs, Variable dimensions.
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- Ana Belén Cantoni, “Estructura de crecimiento rizomático II” (detail), 2011, Pieces of bed sheets, safety pins, and wooden pegs, Variable dimensions.
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- Ana Belén Cantoni, “El gesto fuerte que todo aquello que es sutil niega”, 2013, Hand-woven copper mesh, black cotton fiber, Variable dimensions. Site-specific project. Location: Banco de la república, Bogotá, Colombia.
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- Ana Belén Cantoni, “El gesto fuerte que todo aquello que es sutil niega”, 2013, Hand-woven copper mesh, black cotton fiber, Variable dimensions. Site-specific project. Location: Banco de la República, Bogotá, Colombia.
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- Ana Belén Cantoni, “Estructura elástica en rosa y negro”, 2013, Series: De la vida privada de la geometría, Elastic fabric and staples on floor and wall, 170 x 355 x 295 cm. Site-specific project. Location: Banff Centre, Banff, Canadá.
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- Ana Belén Cantoni, “Línea “, 2011, All my black clothes, Variable dimensions.
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- Ana Belén Cantoni, “Cuerpo Concreto I”, 2013, Series: Cuerpos Concretos, Elastic fabric, staples on floor and wall, and stone, Variable dimensions.
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- Ana Belén Cantoni, “Cuerpo Concreto I (Vista de la Instalación)”, 2013, Series: Cuerpos Concretos, Elastic fabric, staples on floor and wall, and stone, Variable dimensions.
