Exhibition ESTORBO

The Mexican artist inquires and denounces through photography, video, installation and performance the dramatic diaspora taking place at the border between Venezuela and Colombia: one of the largest mass migrations in Latin American history.

Margolles will exhibit the results of some of her fieldwork she made on the Simón Bolívar bridge, one of the geographical points that connect Colombia and Venezuela, questioning the physical and mental limits of a border. The provocative title of this project draws on the word “estorbo” (obstruction), which is often used to talk about something uncomfortable or that bothers. Unfortunately, we are currently witnessing an upsurge of intolerance and xenophobia at every level, including gender, social, cultural, political and racial issues.

We believe that art has a responsibility to react to these attitudes, creating bridges instead of borders. For this reason, we have chosen to present this unsettling exhibition at this particular historical moment.

Estorbo comprises a new body of work especially conceived by Margolles for this exhibition, including a daily performance that will progressively build a environmental piece that will expand throughout the space.

Teresa Margolles (1963, Culiacán, Sinaloa. She lives and works between Spain and México)

She studied Communication Sciences and Forensic Medicine at Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, starting her artistic career in the early 1990s. Ever since she has been developing a powerful oeuvre that demands attention to violence, poverty and alienation, exposing the social and economic order that renders violent deaths and misery as an accepted normality.

Major solo exhibitions include : Witte de With, Rotterdam, Netherlands, PAC Padiglione d'Arte Contemporanea, Milan, Italy (both in 2018); Musée d'art contemporain, Montreal, Canada (2017); Museo de la Ciudad de Queretaro, Mexico (2016); Migros Museum für Gegenwartskunst, Zurich, Switzerland and Centro de Arte Dos de Mayo, Madrid, Spain, (both 2014); Prince Claus Fund, Amsterdam, Netherlands, and Museo Universitario de Arte Contemporáneo (MUAC), Mexico City, Mexico, (both 2012); Kunsthalle Fridericianum, Kassel, Germany and Los Angeles County Museum of Art, (both 2010).

She has participated in many biennials including Frestas Trienal de Artes, São Paulo (2017); Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA; Los Angeles (2017); BINEALSUR, Colombia (2017); Manifesta 11, Zurich (2016); SIART Bienal de Arte, La Paz (2016), IV Trienal Poli/Gráfica, San Juan, Puerto Rico (2015); 7th Berlin Biennale, Berlin (2012); Her works are included in public collections of international institutions such as the Collection FRAC Grand Large – Hauts- de-France, Dunkerque; Folkwang Museum, Essen; Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington; La Colección Jumex, Mexico City; MACBA, Barcelona; Museo del Banco de la República, Bogota, Colombia; MALBA, Buenos Aires, Argentina; Museum für Moderne Kunst, Frankfurt; Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw, Warsaw; Museo Tamayo Arte Contemporáneo, Mexico City, Mexico; National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Canada; Pérez Art Museum, Miami; Tate Modern, London; The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.

She represented Mexico at the 53th Venice Biennale in 2009 and in 2019 her work will be presented at the main exhibition of the 58th Venice Biennial.