Curated by Liliana Andrade

Object!

When I hear the word objetar I imagine that it has a different meaning than the one that appears in the dictionary. I imagine that the word refers to the way in which, suddenly, objects appear. But I don't imagine this appearance of objects as a kind of luminous miracle, no. I don't think of it as a kind of strange, luminous miracle. I think of it as a kind of strange obstinacy made thing that we might stumble upon if we are not attentive. Perhaps an object is the trace left by an idea, and, perhaps, the act of leaving that trace is a way of objecting to the order of a piece of the world. After all, an object propitiates forms of use, that is important. Our relationship with objects is far from being contemplative, it is active and happens constantly as we use them and talk about them. The form of an object is not a static result, on the contrary, it is a dynamic swarm of relationships involving geometry, scale, color, texture, materials, structure, and a rhythm with time, economy, history, geography, affects, bodies, environment and much more. This mechanics of form is what allows us to question the premises of how objects and their forms of use are made, in this way, an object "objects" the piece of the world in which it operates and in doing so transforms us.

This mechanics of form is what allows us to question the premises of how objects and their forms of use are made, in this way, an object "objects" the piece of the world in which it operates and in doing so transforms us.

The exhibition brings together 165 contemporary objects made by Colombian designers, artisans, architects and artists. They are gathered here because, in different ways, they question -object! - their process of creation, often contradictory, ambiguous and even problematic, creating tensions between their layers of configuration and search, but surprising precisely for that reason.

Everything we see here has a story to tell: Why was it made? Is it just the material and does it fit its function? Is the piece not ergonomically adequate, but there is an affective relationship with it? Does its production process correspond to its geometry? Does its form fit its use? What does it tell us about its origin? How can I controvert the way it was built? How can I tension the properties of its materiality? Does its structure complement its form, its rhythm, its balance?

Many questions exist when it comes to shaping these pieces. Everyday objects made in delicate ceramic forms that problematize their own technique, function, structure, balance or geometry; soft fibers woven with efficiency and precision to support their use, weight, tensions or figures; blown glass that debates their utility, origin or skeleton; efficiently cut or folded metals that discuss their gravity, use, the traces of their welding, color or shine; woods that through their density, flexibility and versatility tension their silhouette, the nature of their species, their logic.