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The Great Swindle: Works by Santiago Montoya

Santiago Montoya
Art Museum of the Americas, Washington, DC
October 2016 – March 2017

The Great Swindle: Works by Santiago Montoya was an exhibition curated by José Luis Falconi as part of AMA’s temporary exhibitions program showcasing contemporary artists of OAS member countries. 

Colombian artist Santiago Montoya (b. 1974) uses paper currency as the base for his work, re-contextualizing one of our most basic and intimate relationships: the relationship with money. The Great Swindle is also a journey through the artist’s forays into the materiality of paper bills – raising questions and taking positions on our places within financial systems. 

Montoya follows a multidisciplinary approach that embraces traditional painting, found objects and video documentary. He comments on a broad swathe of political issues, from conservation and dispossession to the transmission of information, aiming to uncover reality and bring to light the victory of the human spirit over adversity.

More info

Selected Works

FlyAway_SantiagoMontoya
TheGreatSwindle_s11_2011
TheGreatSwindle-2_Falconi-FlyAwayIII_2012
Worthy_2012
TheGreatSwindle-2_Falconi-GoWestII_2011
2017.03.01-AMA-Great-Swindle-up-close-768x768
2017.03.01-AMA-Abraham-Lincoln-collage-1
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Selected Reviews

“On a formal level, Montoya perfects his fabrication process, using artworks meticulously constructed of banknotes as aesthetic representations of his research and keen observation. In 2016 – 2017, The Great Swindle is reprised as a major institutional show curated by José Luis Falconi at the AMA.”  Moly Tracy,  Broadway World 

The seemingly Godlike power money wields certainly makes the world go round, whether in the U.S., China, Argentina or Zimbabwe. Montoya’s works examine the singular yet universal aspirations of different nations to accumulate wealth and prosperity, while laying bare the shaky foundations on which this prosperity is often built.” Kate Oczypok, The Washington Diplomat

“The exhibition’s launch in DC is timely as it helps us focus more attention to the issue of currency especially in the constantly changing global financial environment such as Brexit, low interest rates and potential impact of currency exchanges.”  Angelique Sina

“There is certain poetic elegance to art’s ability not only to imitate life, but crystalize its complexities. Montoya’s OAS exhibition ‘The Great Swindle’ has deep resonance for Latin Americans, who have always had a complicated relationship with sovereign debt and American capitalism.” Ramona Diaz, Tru Vue 

Adventures in DC   Georgetowner

Installation Views

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The Great Swindle: Works by Santiago Montoya
Santiago Montoya
Art Museum of the Americas, Washington, DC
October 2016 – March 2017

The Great Swindle: Works by Santiago Montoya was an exhibition curated by José Luis Falconi as part of AMA’s temporary exhibitions program showcasing contemporary artists of OAS member countries. 

Colombian artist Santiago Montoya (b. 1974) uses paper currency as the base for his work, re-contextualizing one of our most basic and intimate relationships: the relationship with money. The Great Swindle is also a journey through the artist’s forays into the materiality of paper bills – raising questions and taking positions on our places within financial systems. 

Montoya follows a multidisciplinary approach that embraces traditional painting, found objects and video documentary. He comments on a broad swathe of political issues, from conservation and dispossession to the transmission of information, aiming to uncover reality and bring to light the victory of the human spirit over adversity.

More info

Installation Views
Selected Reviews
H.2.1_

“On a formal level, Montoya perfects his fabrication process, using artworks meticulously constructed of banknotes as aesthetic representations of his research and keen observation. In 2016 – 2017, The Great Swindle is reprised as a major institutional show curated by José Luis Falconi at the AMA.”  Moly Tracy,  Broadway World 

The seemingly Godlike power money wields certainly makes the world go round, whether in the U.S., China, Argentina or Zimbabwe. Montoya’s works examine the singular yet universal aspirations of different nations to accumulate wealth and prosperity, while laying bare the shaky foundations on which this prosperity is often built.” Kate Oczypok, The Washington Diplomat

“The exhibition’s launch in DC is timely as it helps us focus more attention to the issue of currency especially in the constantly changing global financial environment such as Brexit, low interest rates and potential impact of currency exchanges.”  Angelique Sina

“There is certain poetic elegance to art’s ability not only to imitate life, but crystalize its complexities. Montoya’s OAS exhibition ‘The Great Swindle’ has deep resonance for Latin Americans, who have always had a complicated relationship with sovereign debt and American capitalism.” Ramona Diaz, Tru Vue 

Adventures in DC   Georgetowner

Selected Works
FlyAway_SantiagoMontoya
TheGreatSwindle_s11_2011
TheGreatSwindle-2_Falconi-FlyAwayIII_2012
Worthy_2012
TheGreatSwindle-2_Falconi-GoWestII_2011
2017.03.01-AMA-Great-Swindle-up-close-768x768
2017.03.01-AMA-Abraham-Lincoln-collage-1
Previous
Next
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The Great Swindle: Works by Santiago Montoya

Santiago Montoya
Art Museum of the Americas, Washington, DC
October 2016 – March 2017

The Great Swindle: Works by Santiago Montoya was an exhibition curated by José Luis Falconi as part of AMA’s temporary exhibitions program showcasing contemporary artists of OAS member countries. 

Colombian artist Santiago Montoya (b. 1974) uses paper currency as the base for his work, re-contextualizing one of our most basic and intimate relationships: the relationship with money. The Great Swindle is also a journey through the artist’s forays into the materiality of paper bills – raising questions and taking positions on our places within financial systems. 

Montoya follows a multidisciplinary approach that embraces traditional painting, found objects and video documentary. He comments on a broad swathe of political issues, from conservation and dispossession to the transmission of information, aiming to uncover reality and bring to light the victory of the human spirit over adversity.

More info

Horizon_the_Sweetest_perfection_

The Great Swindle: Works by Santiago Montoya

Santiago Montoya
Art Museum of the Americas, Washington, DC
October 2016 – March 2017

The Great Swindle: Works by Santiago Montoya was an exhibition curated by José Luis Falconi as part of AMA’s temporary exhibitions program showcasing contemporary artists of OAS member countries. 

Colombian artist Santiago Montoya (b. 1974) uses paper currency as the base for his work, re-contextualizing one of our most basic and intimate relationships: the relationship with money. The Great Swindle is also a journey through the artist’s forays into the materiality of paper bills – raising questions and taking positions on our places within financial systems. 

Montoya follows a multidisciplinary approach that embraces traditional painting, found objects and video documentary. He comments on a broad swathe of political issues, from conservation and dispossession to the transmission of information, aiming to uncover reality and bring to light the victory of the human spirit over adversity.

More info