Manuel Calderón

Manuel Calderón

Bogotá, 1985

Drawing as an action is repeatedly presented in the work of Manuel Calderón, who, through complex and monotonous processes, captures the time and space in which contemporary life unfolds. Monotony, Constraint, Limitation, Routine, Frequency, Schedule, Dwelling, Repetition, order, and chaos are terms that are part of a fine yet simple weave of concepts that inform the artist's work.

In his meticulous and obsessive drawing, Manuel always uses academic and ancestral techniques such as pencil, charcoal, pastel, or ink, always on paper. However, his research focuses on embracing different media and languages ​​characteristic of a contemporary artist. Thus, through these traditional techniques, and overcoming the two-dimensional preconception of drawing, he creates objects, installations, animations, videos, and actions. In this way, he displaces drawing from its two-dimensional field, allying it with space and time.

Photography and video are important resources in her work, as are her pencils and erasers. She continually creates photographic compositions, harnessing light to highlight postures, gestures, textures, and actions of a body, which she later faithfully reproduces in an intense gesture mediated by her own body.
Lives and works in Madrid