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MAL PASO (y otros senderos)

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Santiago Montoya 
Espacio El Dorado
October 2017 – December 2017

MAL PASO (y otros senderos) is a three floor exhibition curated by José Luis Falconi presenting the works from Santiago Montoya that explore the myths surrounding “El Paso del Quindio”. The “Paso” is an arduous but strategic overpass in the Cordillera Central of the Andes, in the route that connected Bogotá with Popayan and other main cities in the central western region of the country. 

With this cumulous of fables and myths about it since very early on, this region secured a particular place in the Colombian imagination and, for the last two hundred years, has become a near perfect metaphor for the challenges and potential of the nascent republic. It represents both the intractability of the terrain and the Edenic and fertile ecosystems on which Colombia has been established. In other words, the “Paso” is perhaps the most definitive image metaphor for the curse of (natural) riches with which Colombia has been dealing since its inception. 

MAL PASO (y otros senderos)

And, for all these reasons, it should not come as a surprise that it serves as the foundational metaphor for artist Santiago’s Montoya first exhibit in his native Colombia in over a decade, Malpaso (and other routes). He has not only lived for years in Armenia, but has also structured his artistic practice on the exploration of value behind monetary transactions and cash itself. In that sense, just as his previous works, this one is also an exploration into the inherent fiction behind what one might find valuable.

Displayed across the three floors of the El Dorado building, which in turn comprise three major installations, each of them reinterpreting the experience of crossing a dubious path to riches and fortune, “Mal paso (y otros senderos),”aims to make its spectator question and reflect on the shortcomings and illusions of the Colombian national project. 

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Choreographed as an ascension out of hardship into a state of suspect grace and fortune, the show consists of three interlocking site-specific pieces —one on each floor—which, as stated, reinterpret the crossing of the “Paso del Quindio.” In that sense, the exhibition asks from its viewer to inhabit and traverse the strange space opened by the critical distance between the dreams of wealth and prosperity and the actual realities of their dreamers.

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Installation Views

Selected Reviews

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“Mal paso y otros senderos is a three-story installation by Santiago Montoya at the Esp gallery. The artist works a lot from the idea of capital, from the idea of money, from the currency of the object. In this exhibition to the imaginary from the landscaping specifically of ur place that is called “The step that is in the Quino, that has great cultivations of cacao” Stopart Online Magazine 

“What I appreciate about this exhibition is that it fills me with questions, because lately recurring themes such as mining, violence, drug trafficking and politics have been postulated in local art; appealing to a social conscience or complaint. I think that there are several contradictions here, not in all cases of course, but in those of the artists who have found in these events a theme to use to use as an argument that supports a production of images, which perhaps does not have nothing to do with the phenomenon they want to deal with. ”  Luisa Roa,  PPC

“Contrary to common belief, Colombia is a country without landscapes. The country might be plagued by riveting natural scenery but these have yet to be transformed into recognizable national landscapes.” José Falconi, Espacio El Dorado

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MAL PASO (y otros senderos)

Santiago Montoya
Espacio El Dorado
October 2017 – December 2017

Espacio El Dorado and the Bachue Project presented  Malpaso (y otros senderos), a three floor exhibition curated by José Luis Falconi presenting the works from Santiago Montoya that explore the myths surrounding the Quindío Path, an arduous but strategic step in the Central Cordillera of the Andes on the route that connects Bogotá with Popayán and other major cities of the western central region of the country, originally used by indigenous communities, and maintained by Spanish conquistadors who crossed the region in look for the gold of the Quimbayas The exhibition asks the viewer to inhabit and cross this strange space opened by the critical distance between dreams of wealth and prosperity and the true realities of its dreamers.

More info

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MAL PASO (y otros senderos)

Santiago Montoya
Espacio El Dorado
October 2017 – December 2017

Espacio El Dorado and the Bachue Project presented  Malpaso (y otros senderos), a three floor exhibition curated by José Luis Falconi presenting the works from Santiago Montoya that explore the myths surrounding the Quindío Path, an arduous but strategic step in the Central Cordillera of the Andes on the route that connects Bogotá with Popayán and other major cities of the western central region of the country, originally used by indigenous communities, and maintained by Spanish conquistadors who crossed the region in look for the gold of the Quimbayas The exhibition asks the viewer to inhabit and cross this strange space opened by the critical distance between dreams of wealth and prosperity and the true realities of its dreamers.

More info