ABOUT ARTIST
ALEXIS VILLANUEVA NIEBLES
b. 1998, Soledad, Colombia.
Lives and works in Barranquilla, Colombia.
STATEMENT
As an artist I am interested in reflecting on the environment I inhabit and the different situations that are part of it. In my artwork I talk about social and cultural issues related to the youth and children population of the Rebolo neighborhood, a traditional and peripheral sector of the city of Barranquilla, Colombia, where I have grown up and which has been affected by crime, gangs and urban violence. For these reasons, with evocations of childhood and games, I seek to exalt the cultural, material and visual richness of my context, based on artistic and creative proposals that develop reflective discourses on problems that may seem local, but that equally disrupt other spaces in the world.
My work proposes the refunctionalization and deconstruction of games, toys and artifacts with content alluding to violence, which is recreated by children and young people when playing and perpetuated in the collective imagination of the future generations of my community, to transform them into other types of constructive playful actions without warlike connotations. Likewise, I document, represent and preserve playful practices of my context, proposing metaphorical and poetic reflections on the game, childhood and popular culture of the Colombian Caribbean.
My art seeks to be a visual and graphic archive that preserves the memories of my environment, recording the toys that I built as a child, evoking the moments in which I shared with my friends playing in the unpaved streets of the neighborhood, also thinking about the occasions where I will explore the nature that surrounded me looking for materials to transform them and follow my creative impulse. My mind momentarily longs for those ephemeral moments of nostalgic happiness and I wish to preserve their presence in my artistic work.
I seek to make a visual and graphic archive that preserves the memories of my environment, recording the toys I built as a child, evoking the moments in which I shared with my friends playing on the unpaved streets of the neighborhood, also thinking about the occasions where I will explore the nature that surrounded me looking for materials to transform and follow my creative impulse. My mind momentarily longs for those ephemeral moments of nostalgic happiness and I wish to preserve their presence in my artistic work.
I use printmaking, drawing, relational and interactive art as creative media in my work, and I employ symbolic elements, such as kites, popular toys, and handmade objects, to express different situations to which I am sensitive as an artist and to establish diverse relationships with the public through their interaction with my work.
CURRICULUM VITAE
EDUCATION
2015 - 2021
BFA. Universidad del Atlántico – Facultad de Bellas Artes. Barranquilla, COL.
2021
Diplomado en Arte y Política. Ministerio de Cultura de Colombia. Bogotá, COL.
AWARDS AND DISTINCTIONS
2023
Winner seccion Artecámara ARTBO 2023 (Bogotá International Art Fair). Ágora Bogotá. Bogotá. COL.
Winner Distinction Jóvenes Visibles: Artes, Culturas y Saberes Para La Paz. Ministerio De Cultura De Colombia.
2022
Winner Prince Claus Seed Awards. Prince Claus Fund. Ansterdam. NDL.
2021
First place. Trasatlántico. Plataforma Canibal. Barranquilla, COL.
2020
Winner Beca de Creación para Jóvenes Artistas del Programa Nacional de Estímulos del Ministerio de Cultura de Colombia.COL.
Laureate mention for Project DES-ARMAR. Universidad del Atlántico – Facultad de Bellas Artes. Barranquilla, COL.
2019
First Place in Printmaking Category. IV Salón Distrital de Artes Plásticas de Barranquilla. Sena de Industrias Creativas. Barranquilla, COL.
2018
International Artistic Residency in Casero Residencia. Itatiaia, BRA.
2017
Second Place. EBA Exposición Bienal del Atlántico. Project of Fundación Divulgar & Gobernación del Atlántico. Museo Bolivariano De Soledad. Soledad, COL.
First Place. II Salón Caribe de Artes Visuales. Galería José Gabriel Tatis. Sabanalarga, Colombia.
2016
First Place in IV Salón de Arte Joven del MAUA - Museo de Antropología de la Universidad del Atlántico. Universidad Del Atlántico. Puerto Colombia, COL.
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2022
Proyecto Atmósfera. Galería Elsa Piñeres. Barranquilla, COL
Open Studio Residencia Trasatlántico. Plataforma Caníbal. Barranquilla, COL
2020
Desarmar, armar y jugar. Virtual Project. Barranquilla, COL.
DES-ARMAR. Degree project exhibition. Universidad del Atlántico. Barranquilla, COL.
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2023
Mobile Lab Buenos Aires. Prince Claus Fund. Buenos Aires, ARG.
Artecámara ARTBO 2023. Ágora Bogotá. Bogotá, COL
Utopías-Distopias: Futuros de un Caribe incierto. S.O.S Fundación de Arte Samario. Santa Marta, COL.
V Salón Distrital de Artes Plásticas y Visuales de Barranquilla. Fabrica de Cultura. Barranquilla, COL.
Vacasquilla. Galería La Aduana. Barranquilla, COL.
2022
21 Jóvenes se Exponen. Galería La Aduana. Barranquilla, COL.
Escenario Creativo. Museo de Arte Moderno de Barranquilla. Barranquilla, COL.
I Salón Departamental de Arte de Candelaria. Alcaldía de Candelaria. Candelaria, COL.
2021
Proyecto TESIS. Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Bogotá. COL.
Imagen Regional 9. Curated by Cristo Hoyos Project of cultural area of the Banco de la República. Centro Cultural del Banco de la República. Santa Marta, COL.
Tríptico de Patrimonios y Sonoridades del Caribe Colombiano. Universidad de Antioquia. Medellín, COL.
Primavera Exposición. Instituto Municipal de Cultura y Turismo de Cajicá. Cajicá, COL.
Trasatlántico. Plataforma Caníbal. Barranquilla, COL.
Grabado a Gran Formato. Intervention in Public Space / Museo del Caribe. Barranquilla, COL.
2020
Interior/Exterior – Intercambios Artísticos en Época de Pandemia. Intervention in public space Curated by Cristo Hoyos. Barranquilla, COL.
2019
IV Salón Distrital de Artes Plásticas y visuales de Barranquilla. Sena de Industrias Creativas. Barranquilla, COL.
500 Años de La Habana. Galería Frida Kahlo. La Habana, CUB.
Semana de la Gráfica 2019. Maleza Proyectos. Bogotá, COL.
Carnaval Gráfico. Taller Las Moscas. Bogotá, COL.
Diáspora. Casa Barcelona. Barranquilla, COL.
La Galería Emergente. Galería de la Plaza de la Paz. Barranquilla, COL.
Open Studio Practicas en Debate 2019. Cubo Abierto - Collaborative Art Space. Barranquilla, COL.
II Salón Departamental de Arte del Carnaval. Centro Cultural Confamiliar. Barranquilla, COL.
2018
Re-publica. La Casa Verde. Barranquilla, COL.
Frecuencia. Casa Tropicalia. Barranquilla, COL.
Gran Formato. La Casa Verde. Barranquilla, COL.
2017
EBA - Exposición Bienal del Atlántico. Curated by Susana Quintero Project of Fundación Divulgar & Gobernación del Atlántico. Museo Bolivariano de Soledad. Soledad, COL.
Grabado a Gran Formato. Intervention in Public Space / Museo del Caribe. Barranquilla, COL.
II Salón Caribe de Artes Visuales de Sabanalarga. Galería José Gabriel Tatis. Sabanalarga, COL.
Entropía. Casa Tropicalia. Barranquilla, COL.
Todo a 500. Galería La Aduana. Barranquilla, COL.
Primer Salón Departamental de Arte del Carnaval. Centro Cultural Confamiliar. Barranquilla, COL.
2016
IV Salón de Arte Joven del MAUA - Museo de Antropología de la Universidad del Atlántico.
Centro de Convenciones de la Universidad del Atlántico. Puerto Colombia, COL.
I Salón Caribe de Artes Visuales de Sabanalarga. Galería José Gabriel Tatis. Sabanalarga, COL.
Aglomeraciones. Galería Mycol. Barranquilla, COL.
PUBLICATIONS
2021
Imagen Regional 9 – Territorios Guardianes. Museo de Arte Miguel Urrutia. Bogotá. ISBN 978-958-664-436-5.
2021
Proyecto Tesis 2021. Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Bogotá. Bogotá. ISSN 2422 – 1856.
2020
Interior – Exterior Intercambios Artísticos en Época de Pandemia. Cultural Area of the Banco de la Republica. Bogotá. ISBN 978-958-644-423-5.
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATION
2022
46 Salón Nacional de Artistas Inaudito Magdalena. Art mediator and workshop leader. Galería La Aduana. Barranquilla, COL.
Workshop Hacer un Instante. Workshop leader. Museo de Arte Moderno de Barranquilla. Barranquilla, COL
2021
Expresarte con Ciencia 2. Workshop leader. Ministerio de Ciencias e Innovación de Colombia. Barranquilla, COL.