| 345 zones, the white canvases acquire marks (stamps, dirt, labels). How important is transit, transition, change, in these pieces? KS: The Mailed Paintings travel between exhibition spaces, while collecting traces, marks and labels. Being constantly displayed or exhibited, transition is part of the each piece: from here to there.
Gabriel Sierra
(Bogotá, Colombia, 1975) Studied Industrial Design at the Jorge Tadeo Lozano University. Among his recent individual exhibitions are Gabriel Sierra, Casas Reigner Gallery, Bogotá (2013); Thus Far, Peephole, Milan (2013); Hexágono irregular [Irregular Hexagon], Cer Modern, Ankara (2012); Un viaje a Viena como Bruno Munari [A trip to Vienna like Bruno Munari], Martin Janda Gallery, Vienna (2011). He’s also participated in international events like the 9th Shanghai Biennial (2012), the Lyon Biennial (2011), and the 2nd Poligráfica Triennial in San Juan, Puerto Rico (2009). He lives and works in Bogotá. RM: How do you see the presence of traditional cultures, and, in particular, of their visual sense, in your work? I know that you feel a particular interest in pre-Columbian cultures… GS: Geometry is an ancient science strongly related to mathematics and astronomy. What really interests me about geometry is that it’s a tool you can use to represent anything in the
world, including ideas you can’t communicate with words. My interest in pre-Columbian cultures resides in the need to find contextual references for my work; maybe I’m wrong, but I could say that art in general is a recent idea among us—all references and concerns come from Europe or the United States. In pre-Columbian art we can find something older and unlike the idea of art as culture. The pre-Columbian objects function as complex communication systems, built to understand nature and its relation to the cosmos. RM: In which of your works do you perceive this? GS: I generally use art history and ideas from different sources. But these references are not evident at first view, or are semi-visible because they get buried during the process. I work with ideas and concepts that, depending on the circumstances, materialize as objects, structures, places, or situations. I’m not interested in the formal aspect when constructing or representing a concept, I try to use elements that perform specific functions. Here, what really matters is to generate a sensation when you confront an object in space; it’s a matter of how the spectator interacts visually or physically with your thoughts. RM: I feel that your work critiques modernism’s rigid canons— both modern architecture and geometric abstraction—and that there is also an interest in finding new references. Can you speak of some precedent? I was thinking of Antonio Grass, whose work you showed me, but also of a previous conversation where
you spoke about the influence of vernacular constructions. Can you speak of that? GS: I think about the relations that abstract and geometric concepts establish with the human body and how they directly affect it. For example, we can recall the fact that part of the philosophy behind modern architecture originated in hospitals designed to treat wounds and post-war sicknesses: the white color of the walls and the restricted use of ornaments were useful to control bacterial growth and to create better antiseptic conditions in the recuperation rooms. Also, I’m interested in how Cubism, De Stijl, Futurism and the Bauhaus applied art concepts to people’s daily lives, affecting their reality. As for Antonio Grass, I was introduced to his work by a professor’s recommendation. It’s not an important reference, he’s just one of the few contextual figures that has contributed to an understanding of pre-Columbian artifacts.
Fiete Stolte
(Berlin, Germany, 1979) He studied sculpture at the Kunsthochschule Weißensee in Berlin. Among his most recent exhibitions we find Crossed Pencils at the Helga Maria Klosterfelde Edition, Berlin (2012); Night, at the Sassa Trülzsch gallery, Berlin (2011); 8–Day Week Trip, at Souterrain, Berlin (2010), and Art 40 Basel Statements in Switzerland (2009). He has participated in such collective exhibitions as 10 Ways