Alberto Baraya. Journey to Galicia

The exhibition Journey to Galicia brings together works from two projects that Alberto Baraya (Bogotá, Colombia, 1968) has carried out in Pontevedra (Galicia) over the last two years.

The first project, Vento (Wind), was commissioned by the Museo de Pontevedra and curated by Iñaki Martínez Antelo as part of the Infiltraciones program. This site-specific action involved collaboration with the Association of Friends of Traditional Vessels of Bueu and the Marín Naval School. Baraya, the "traveling painter," navigated the Pontevedra estuary in a traditional pulpeira (octopus fishing) boat, capturing the landscape he observed during his voyage directly onto the sail. This process sparks new reflections on au plein air painting and the use of ship sails as canvases. The action culminated in a site-specific installation featuring the sail contextualized alongside maritime objects from the Museum's collection. The project is completed by a video piece documenting the journey and the risks taken in the turbulent waters of the estuary. In the style of a modern Odysseus, Baraya ties himself to the mast of the vessel to stay on board and avoid falling into the arms of mermaids.

The second project that makes up the exhibition Journey to Galicia is the Camellia Expedition: Comparative Studies in the Province of Pontevedra. This is another adventure of Baraya’s alter-ego, the Artificial Naturalist. Invited by the RAC Foundation, he carries out exercises in collecting and introducing camellia species (Camellia japonica) into urban and rural ecosystems in Galicia.

Alberto Baraya appropriates the scientific expedition and its methods as a research tool to transform traveling into one of the Fine Arts. His questioning of the scientific method and the construction and legitimation of knowledge by museums is one of the most brilliant and shrewd in the contemporary art scene.

He has represented Colombia at the São Paulo, Venice, and Shanghai Biennials and has created interventions in institutions such as the Migros Museum in Zurich and the Stavanger Museum in Norway, among many others.

His work is held in prestigious international collections, including Banco de la República and the Museum of Art of the National University of Colombia (Bogotá), The Pérez Family Foundation (Miami) and The Brodsky Foundation (New York), Stavanger Kunstmuseum (MUST), Norway, Essex Collection of Art from Latin America (ESCALA), UK and in numerous private and public international collections.