From CNN to the DNA, I focus my attention on reaching surfaces without the minor hope to get informed. Everyday, we are condemned to know more and understand less. This antiseptic process prefigures the first global semiotic indigestion. Reality collapses when one tries to portray an ocean by depicting drop after drop of water. My vision of the world is as precise as it is mistaken, and that is why I draw for hours with intense attention and no particular intention.
Traducido del inglés
De CNN al ADN, enfoco mi atención a alcanzar superficies sin la menor intención de estar informado. Todos los días estamos condenados a saber más y entender menos. Este proceso antiséptico prefigura la primera indigestión semiótica global. La realidad se colapsa cuando uno intenta representar un océano al ilustrar cada gota de agua. Mi visión del mundo es tan precisa como errada, y es por esto que dibujo por horas con intensa atención y sin particular intención.
Selected Biographical Information
Education / Training
- 1998: MFA, State University of New York, New Paltz, NY, USA.
Prizes / Fellowships
- 2012: XVII Premio Figari, Museuo Figari, Montevideo, Uruguay.
Solo Exhibitions
- 2012: Figari Prize XVII, Museo Figari, Montevideo, Uruguay
- 2012: “Functional Desinformation – drawings in Portuguese”, Instituto Tomie Ohtake, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
- 2012: “Lentissimo”, The Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, NY, USA.
- 2012: Bienal de Cuenca, Ecuador.
- 2012: “No Idea”, Museum of Latin American Art, Long Beach, CA, USA.
- 2011: “Optimismo Radical”, NC-arte, Bogota, Colombia.
- 2011: “From Huguenot to Microwave”, Dorsky Museum, New Paltz, NY, USA.
- 2005: “El Papel Del Papel”, Centro Colombo Americano, Bogota, Colombia.
- 2003: “Construcciones & Demoliciones, dibujos en español”, Centro Cultural Reina Sofia, Montevideo, Uruguay.
- 2001: “Global Myopia”, Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City, MO, USA.
Group Exhibitions
- 2013: “MOCA’s Permanent Collection: A Selection of Recent Acquisitions”, Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
- 2010: “Al calor del pensamiento, Works from the Daros LatinAmerica Collection”, Fundacion Banco Santander, Madrid, Spain.
- 2008: “New Perspectives in Latin American Art, 1930-2006: Selections from a Decade of Acquisitions”, Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY, USA.
- 2008: “Drawn to Detail”, DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park, Lincoln, MA, USA.
- 2008: “WALL ROCKETS: Contemporary Artists and Ed Ruscha”, curated by Lisa Dennison, Flag Art Foundation, New York, NY, USA.
- 2006: “Off/Fora”, 29th Pontevedra Biennal, Pontevedra, Spain.
- 2006: “Gyroscope”, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington D.C., USA.
- 2005: “Drawing From the Modern 1975-2005”, Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY, USA.
- 2003: “Vision & Revision: Works on paper since 1960”, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA, USA.
- 2002: 25th Sao Paulo Biennial, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Publications
- 2006: “100 Latin American Artists”, EXIT Publishers, Madrid, Spain.
- 2005: “Vitamin D: New Perspectives in Drawing”, Phaidon Press, New York, NY, USA.
- 2004: Gwangju Biennial, catalog, text by Marco Maggi.
- 2003: Havana Biennial, catalog, text by Ana Tiscornia.
- 2003: IV Mercosur Biennial, catalog, text by Gabriel Peluffo.
- 2003: “Construcciones & Demoliciones”, essay by Robert Hobbs, Centro Cultural Reina Sofia, Montevideo, Uruguay.
- 2002: Weintraub, Linda. “Being Gently Subversive”, In The Making: Creative Options for Contemporary Art, d.a.p. Sao Paolo Biennial, catalog, text by Marco Maggi.
- 2001: III Mercosur Biennial, catalog, text by Angel Kalemberg.
- 2001: “Marco Maggi: Global Myopia”, Text by Dana Self, Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City, MO, USA.
Collections
- Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY, USA.
- Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
- Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY, USA.
- The Drawing Center, New York, NY, USA.
- Daros Foundation, Zurich, Switzerland.
- Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington DC, USA.
- Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA, USA.
- Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
- Walker Arts Center, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
- Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY, USA.
- Museum of Latin American Art, Long Beach, CA, USA.
- The Rachofsky House, Dallas, TX, USA.
- El Museo del Barrio, New York, NY, USA.
- The Judith Rothschild Foundation, New York, NY, USA.
- Cisneros Collection, New York, NY, USA.
- Indianapolis Museum of Contemporary Art, Indianapolis, IN, USA.
- Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City, MO, USA.
- San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art, San Jose, CA, USA.
Links
- Micro & Soft On Macintosh Apple – Marco Maggi e Ken Salomon, 2004 (cortesia Galeria Nara Roesler)
- Marco Maggi, Clip of “Untitled”
- Fuera de Marco- Out of Frame (2004)
- Marco Maggi: D Ream
- Parking Any Time
- By Disappointment Only
Extract from: Alma Ruiz, “Interview with Artist” in Jose Falconi, ed. A Singular Plurality: The Works of Darío Escobar. Cambridge, MA: Department of History of Art and Architecture, Harvard University, 2013, pp. 331-345. “I am very interested in the ideas of Benjamin H. D. Buchloh, which seem to me quite accurate as they relate to contemporary art: sculpture as a cross between an industrial object and a monument within the fine arts tradition. I’m very interested in analyzing the relationship between production and consumption, especially in these times in which objects are mass produced, and in their production in factories, individuals alienate themselves from the items: they distance themselves, but they are then reconciled in the exercise of purchase/consumption. However, to incorporate the object into an aesthetic operation, such as art, leads us to a narrower and more revealing space for reflection—it does not simply place the object within these mechanical operations of manufacturing and buying.” (…) “My interest in the pre-Hispanic past actually lies in the question of form, and I take this as a pretext to investigate the major issues that informed art in these lands for centuries. When I made these works, (Kukulkán I, 2007; and the series Quetzalcóatl II, III, etc.) I was really excited to discover a sculptural model that would show certain qualities that traditional sculpture doesn’t show, and one of these factors was the behavior of the material. I was interested in starting to work with light, with shadows, and with materials that move freely without obeying the forms that I give them as a sculptor. It was a true exercise in freedom. I thought this idea was touched upon in some way in pre-Hispanic architecture with the shadows that form on staircases… I’ve always been particularly interested in archeology as well.”
Traducido del inglés
Fragmento de: Alma Ruiz, “Interview with Artist” in Jose Falconi, ed. A Singular Plurality: The Works of Darío Escobar. Cambridge, MA: Department of History of Art and Architecture, Harvard University, 2013, pp. 331-345. “Me interesan mucho las ideas de Benjamin H. D. Buchloh, las cuales me parecen bastante acertadas ya que se refieren al arte contemporáneo y a la escultura como una mezcla entre objeto industrial y un monumento dentro de la tradición de las bellas artes. Me interesa analizar la relación entre producción y consumo, especialmente en estos tiempos en los que los objetos son producidos en masa y debido a su producción es de fábrica los individuos se apartan de ellos. Toman distancia, pero se reconcilian en el ejercicio de compra y consumo. No obstante, al incorporar el objeto dentro de una operación estética como lo es el arte, nos lleva a un espacio de reflexión más estrecho y revelador. No pone al objeto simplemente dentro de estas operaciones mecánicas de manufactura y compra”. “Mi interés en el pasado prehispánico radica en la cuestión de la forma y lo tomo como pretexto para investigar los temas importantes que informaron el arte desde estas tierras por siglos. Cuando realicé estas obras (Kukulkán I, 2007, y la serie Quetzalcóatl II, III, etc.) me entusiasmó descubrir un modelo escultórico que mostraba ciertas cualidades que la escultura tradicional no muestra y uno de estos factores fue el comportamiento del material. Me interesaba comenzar a trabajar con la luz, con las sombras y con materiales que se mueven libremente sin obedecer las formas que les doy como escultor. Fue un verdadero ejercicio de libertad. Pensé que esta idea se abordó de alguna manera en la arquitectura prehispánica con las sombras que se forman en las escalinatas… Siempre he tenido un interés particular por la arqueología también.
Selected Biographical Information
Education / Training
- 1996: Arquitectura, Universidad Rafael Landivar, Ciudad de Guatemala, Guatemala.
Solo Exhibitions
- 2013: “Ultitled”, Kamel Mennour Galerie, Paris, France.
- 2013: “Dario Escobar/ Blacksmith Project”, Josée Bienvenu Gallery, New York, USA.
- 2012: “Dario Escobar / La experiencia del objeto” (MAC) Museo de arte Contemporáneo de Santiago, Santiago de Chile, Chile.
- 2012: “Dario Escobar: Singular/Plural” (SCAD) Museum of Art, Savannah, Georgia / (SCAD) Atlanta – Gallery 1600, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
- 2012: “Dario Escobar / trabajo reciente” Baró Galeria, São Paulo, Brazil.
- 2011: “Dario Escobar / Revisión” Museo Nacional de Arte Moderno Carlos Mérida, Ciudad de Guatemala, Guatemala.
- 2010: “Side and Back”, Kamel Mennour Galerie, Paris, France.
- 2010: “Anverso y Reverso”, González y González, Santiago de Chile, Chile.
- 2008: “Playoffs” Josee Bienvenu Gallery, New York, USA.
- 2007: “La Línea Interrumpida”, (CCM) Centro Cultural Metropolitano, Ciudad de Guatemala, Guatemala.
- 2007: “Dario Escobar/Project room”, Rotunda Gallery, Brooklyn, New York, USA.
- 2006: “Objetos en Transito”, Sala Gasco, Santiago de Chile, Chile.
- 2005: “Serpentario”, (CCEG) Centro Cultural de España Guatemala, Ciudad de Guatemala, Guatemala.
Group Exhibitions
- 2013: “Inaugural Exhibition”, The Pizzutti Collection, Columbus, Ohio, USA.
- 2013: “California-Pacific Triennial”, (OCMA) Orange County Museum of Art, Newport Beach, California / (CC) Coastline Community college Art Gallery, Newport Beach, California, USA.
- 2013: “Y…¿entonces? / and..so?”, the 9.99, Ciudad de Guatemala, Guatemala.
- 2012: “The Island / A game of life”, Gallery One, Manarat al Saadiyat, Abu Dhabi, UAE.
- 2011: “Now” (Selección de obras de La Colección Jumex) Instituto Cultural Cabañas, Guadalajara, Mexico.
- 2011: “From the recent PAst: New Acquisitions” (MOCA) The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, California, USA.
- 2009: “Los Impoliticos”, (PAN) Palazzo delle Arti Napoli, Naples, Italy.
- 2009: “Périfériks”, (CAN) Centre D’art Neuchâtel, Switzerland.
- 2009: “Mundus Novus: 53 Bienal Internacional de Venecia”, Artiglerie dell’Arsenale, Venecia, Italy.
- 2008: “Playtime”, Bétonsalon / Centre d’art et de recherche, Paris, France.
- 2007: “The Hours: Visual Arts of Contemporary LAtin America”, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, Australia.
- 2001: “Short Stories”, La Fabbrica del Vapore, Milán, Italy.
- 2001: “I Tirana Biennial”, National Gallery & Chinese Pavilion, Tirana, Albania.
Publications
- 2012: Book. A singular plurality: the works of Dario Escobar. Ed. Department of History of Art and Architecture, Harvard University. Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Collections
- Daros Latinamerica, Zurich, Switzerland.
- Blanton Museum of Art, Austin, TX, USA.
- Nasher Museum of Art, Durham, NC, USA.
- MOLAA Museum of Latin American Art, Long Beach, CA, USA.
- MOCA, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
- CIFO – Cisneros Fontanals Art Foundation, Miami, FL, USA.
- El Museo del Barrio, New York City, NY, USA.
- Pizzuti Collection Fundación/Colección Jumex, México D.F., Mexico.
- MADC Museo de Arte y Diseño Contemporáneo, San José, Costa Rica.
- MAC Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Santiago de Chile, Santiago de Chile, Chile.
Links
- El guatemalteco Darío Escobar participa en la feria de arte Pinta, en Londres Darío Escobar y sus exaltaciones piadosas
- Art is my Business – Solo Show
- Conectaarte blog post on Darío Escobar
- Darío Escobar’s portrait for the Venice Biennale themed issue of this Italian fashion glossy.
- La Experiencia del Objeto.
- Darío Escobar en el MAC
- The Island-A Game of Life
- Darío Escobar: trabalhos recentes
- MALI Uno a Uno: Darío Escobar y José Falconí
- Baró Galería – Arsenal
- Instalación conceptual ‘Obverse & Reverse’ de Darío Escobar