7 Inspiring Artists From Bogota the World Needs to Know

Doris Salcedo was born in Bogotá in 1958, she began to study fine art in the city, but completed her studies in New York University and went on to become one of the best sculptors in Colombia. She began her career as an art teacher, but was soon creating her abstract art full time. Heavily influenced by her experience of life in Colombia, her work has three main themes; marginalisation, displacement and oppression. She often created from everyday materials such as wood, clothes and concrete. Doris became the 8th individual commissioned to create a piece for the Tate Modern in London, an abstract piece called Shibboleth, which was a 167 meter crack in the museum’s floor. Her work has appeared in London, Istanbul, San Francisco, New York, Lisbon and Harvard University.

Fanny Sanín Sader was born in Bogotá in 1938 and is a non-figurative painter, who specialises in painting colourful abstract geometric forms. She is a second generation geometric Colombian artist, who studied in Bogotá, Chicago and London. Her work have been featured in Mexico City, Bogotá, Venezuela, London, Washington DC, New York City and she has had over 60 exhibits.

Nelson Gutierrez was born in Bogotá but currently resides in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. He specialises in 2 and 3D artworks, conceptual objects, which have a sociopolitical issues. He addresses longing, fear, grief and vanity, in ink, wood, metal, wax, water, glass, light and photographs. His work has been displayed in Bogotá, Washington DC, Miami, Switzerland, New York and London.

Melissa Cruz Garcia is a Colombian-Dutch artist born in Bogotá, but she left to study at The Hague and in Florence. Her artwork is based upon natural and electrical light in a contextual way to put the public in a place where they feel like they are part of the piece. Her work has been displayed in Berlin, Denmark, The Hague and Amsterdam.