Carlos Motta

Carlos Motta: History's Back Rooms is the first comprehensive monograph of the work of Carlos Motta—one of Colombia's most recognised and celebrated contemporary artists. His art practice explores alternative narratives regarding marginalised communities and identities in the context of social and political histories.

This anthological volume brings together close to twenty years of his work, from the artist's early experiments in drawing, photography, and performance in the late 90s, to his installations based on documentary and archival research in the 2000s, until his most recent incursions in poetic filmmaking and installations that deal with pre-Hispanic and colonial sexualities.

Motta's work has developed along two clear lines: one that investigates political and social injustices in Colombia and Latin America, with an emphasis and critique of democracy as a form of government and the effects of the Cold War in the region; and another where the artist re-articulates historical narratives around sexuality and gender from Colonial times until the present.

Carlos Motta's work was the subject of a career survey exhibition at the Museo de Arte Moderno de Medellín, Colombia and Matucana 100, Santiago, Chile. His solo exhibitions include Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam (2017); Pérez Art Museum, Miami (2016); Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires (2016); PinchukArtCentre, Kiev (2015); New Museum, New York (2012); MoMA PS1, New York (2009); and Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia (2009).

Motta participated in 32 Bienal de São Paulo (2016); X Gwangju Biennale (2014); and X Lyon Biennale (2010). His films have been screened at the Rotterdam Film Festival (2016, 2010); Toronto International Film Festival (2013); and Internationale Kurzfilmtage Winterthur (2016); among others.

His work is represented in the permanent collections of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; The Museum of Modern Art, New York; Guggenheim Museum, New York; Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, Madrid; Museo de Arte Contemporaneo de Barcelona; and Museo de Arte de Banco de la República, Bogotá, among others. Motta has been awarded the Vilcek Foundation's Prize for Creative Promise (2017); the PinchukArtCentre's Future Generation Art Prize (2014); and a Guggenheim Fellowship (2008).