CORTÉS IN BOGOTA: MATERIALITY AS IDENTITY
SKETCH gallery presents Un todo con partes separadas, an exhibition by Colombian artist David Julián Cortés (1998) that delves into the relationship between painting and weaving, using materials with a strong symbolic and cultural charge.
Cortés explores painting as a space of intersection between color, materiality, and cultural memory. His practice is deeply rooted in the textile tradition of Boyacá, his region of origin, where weaving is not only a craft but also a visual and symbolic language. From a perspective that blurs the boundaries between art and craft, his work transforms traditional materials—burlap, tapestry, jute, canvas, and embroidered fabrics—into pictorial surfaces that evoke landscapes, structures, and visual rhythms.
Throughout his career, Cortés has developed an approach that engages with art history and artisanal production systems, incorporating references from both Latin American modern abstraction and ancestral textile practices. Influenced by postwar art, he recognizes materiality as an essential component in the conceptual construction of his pieces. His work revolves around the tension between structure and gesture, between geometric patterns and the spontaneity of color, exploring weaving not only as a technique but also as a metaphor for time, territory, and memory.
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Vista de sala David Julián Cortés: Un todo con partes separadas. Cortesía de SKETCH
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David Julián Cortés. Perversión de la cuadrícula I, 2025. Óleo sobre gobelino, 100 x 100 x 2.5 cm. Cortesía de SKETCH
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David Julián Cortés. Patrón en secuencia, 2024. Espartos sobre pared, 40 x 200 x 16 cm. Cortesía de SKETCH
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David Julián Cortés. Perversión de la cuadrícula II, 2025. Díptico. Óleo sobre gobelino, 70 x 50 x 3 cm (cada una) I 70 x 100 x 3 cm (medida global). Cortesía de SKETCH
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David Julián Cortés. Cruzamientos y flores III, 2025. Óleo sobre gobelino,
60 x 45 x 4.5 cm. Cortesía de SKETCH
In Un todo con partes separadas, Cortés proposes through color-intense, contrasting and rooted in the aesthetics of Boyaca-a reinterpretation of the visual identity of his region, moving away from folkloric readings to place it in a broader context of formal and conceptual exploration.
Un todo con partes separadas will be on view until April 12 at SKETCH, Carrera 23 # 77 - 41, San Felipe Distrito de Arte, Bogota (Colombia).
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