Federico Uribe: Objects in the Mirror
May 2 - June 29, 2014
Federico Uribe (b. 1962) grew up in Bogota, Colombia. After graduating from the University of Los Andes in Bogota in 1988, Federico continued his study of academic painting in New York under Luis Camnitzer. He traveled to work and study in Cuba, Mexico, Russia, England, and landed in Miami, Florida in 2000 where he lives today. After years of struggling to be a painter, Federico realized that his calling was not to draw or paint on canvas, but instead to mold inanimate objects into vibrant images.
Uribe’s shift into new media allowed him to grow into a new subject matter. He stopped rendering the dark imagery that reflected the angst of his youth in Columbia, and turned his attention to the beauty of life. “Celebrating life is better than complaining about it,” says Federico. The potential narratives or supposed meaning seen in his work are not meant to promote any particular ideology; rather, the artist wants to share the imagery of his experience with his viewers. He says that all he wishes to achieve is a smile from those who view his work.
The artist’s perspective on the world is that of a child conjuring images in cloud formations. In this mindset, he is constantly redefining the materials that others see as commonplace. He finds opportunity and plasticity in objects, such as shoelaces, computer wires, et al., that are usually only associated with one particular task. Federico repurposes these ordinary things into pictures that question the function of each material that is utilized.
Uribe weaves and attaches intimate emotions into each creation. From a distance, the viewer can clearly see the image that inspired the artist’s vision. Up close, one sees the intricate nature of the creative energy that enabled him to piece together the assemblage. Complementary colors of precisely placed and pinned shoelaces or wires produce chiaroscuro in his work. The conjunction of intricately recycled objects inspires pause and admiration, then self-reflection. Each piece in the exhibition is a self-portrait that invites contemplation from the viewer. Objects in a Mirror was curated to introduce a sample of this world-renowned artist’s oeuvre to Boston.