artBO - Bogota International Art Fair

My first time at the 9th Annual International Art Fair in Bogota, also known as artBO, on its opening night was quite exciting. The art fair took place at the exhibition centre, Corferias, and was home to thousands of attendees over a four day period from the 25th - 28th October. According to artBO, its main objective is "to offer the best proposals of national and international art, while preserving the median size of the Fair guaranteeing its quality and facilitating the visit of all Galleries." This year, there were representations from 65 art galleries from 19 countries of which 14 galleries are from Colombia. Similar to last year, the fair had two curated sections with one called the Project Room selected by invitations only by Jose Roca. While the other is called the Artecamara Pavilion representing promising emerging Colombian artists and were selected by Juan Sebastian Ramirez. Overall, it was a mind opening experience viewing the work by so many talented artists from all over the world. Of the pieces that were shown, the following are some of my favourite of the evening. First is the "Archaeological, 2013, estructura metalica, acrilico, 42 inch TV" by Leandro Erlich of Argentina / Known for his three-dimensional illusions, looking into his art can transcend your mind and change your view on ordinary things, even if they do not seem quite right at first...

Next is a mesmerising piece by Francisca Sanchez of Chile / At first glance, this may look like a very simple painting but with a closer look, there is an element of three-dimensional that was quite grasping from all angles

Adonis Flores of Cuba, who fought in the war of Angola, uses humour to convey his vision of raw reality

Ivan Navarro of Chile is best known for working with lights, capturing them in his minimalist and hypnotic artwork

Graciela Sacco of Argentina is an all around artist who combines photography and visual art in this simple, yet utterly powerful display of emotions (my personal favourite)

Sonia Falcone of Bolivia, known for her love of all colours, delivered yet again another of her beautiful creation

Liliana Sanchez of Portugal with her interpretation of Beta Vulgaris, also known as garden beet (made of porcelain and paraffin wax)

Chosen Individual Project from Galerie Nordenhake of Berlin and Stockholm

As for the Artecamara Pavillion, on show are artwork from 23 emerging Colombian artists under 40 who are not commercially represented, but were selected through a national open call. Amongst the individual pieces, one artist stood out mainly due to the simplicity, yet eccentric artwork. Showing below are some pieces I like from Nestor Andres Pena's original portfolio

And finally, some other stand out pieces of the evening

Similar to a mood ring, the large artwork changes its colour in the most simplistic and tranquil pattern

Stepping back in time at Times Square

Since its inception in 2005, artBO has attracted more than 150,000 attendants and 1,300 artists. Last year, more than 20,000 visited the monumental art show. For Bogota, it is an important platform both at home and abroad in terms of finding and nurturing young artists, as well as promoting an appreciation of art worldwide. Overall, it was an international art fair dazzled by creativity in many ways, shapes, and forms. Whether categorically diverse or just simply different, these pieces stemmed from the creative minds we all came to view, appreciate, and ponder...