Darío Escobar
Encyclopedia
Darío Escobar is known for his sculptural recontextualization of everyday objects. Born in Guatemala (1971), his Catholic background and interest in local history became sources of inspiration for a body of work that combines mass-produced objects, craft techniques, and religious iconography.
A trained Architect, later studied at Real Academia de San Fernando, Spain. In 1998 he begins to work on his gold foils, a critically and commercially acclaimed series of artworks that combine baroquial handcraft with today's top consuming products, such as McDonalds cups, Corn Flakes boxes, training equipment, Nike sneakers, etc. He also takes a ludic perspective into the view of today's middle class consumerism. He works on skateboards, embeeds them on silver or cuts them to create new shapes. He uses baseball bats to recreate landscapes, or rip and sew foot balls.
Escobar has exhibited in various biennials, in France, Cuba, Perù, Ecuador, Dominican Republic and Venezuela. His works are featured in various collections, and have been exhibited widely in galleries, museums and biennials in Latin America, North America and Europe, recent exhibitions include: Poetics of the Handmade, The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, CA (2007); La Linea Interrumpida, Centro Cultural Metropolitano, Guatemala City, Guatemala (2007); The Hours: Visual Arts of Contemporary Latin America, Dublin Museum, Ireland (2005) and Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, Australia (2007). He will have a solo exhibition at Josée Bienvenu gallery, New York in spring 2008. In summer 2008, he will also be included in the group exhibition World Histories at the Des Moines Art Center, Des Moines, IA
Biography
Born in 1971, in Guatemala, Dario Escobar began his career in the late 90's with his well known "baroque meets today type" series of works. Escobar's interest in history and art led him to study at the Museo de Arte Colonial (Antigua Guatemala) where he learned techniques used in the 17th century as to build and repair baroquial artwork.A trained Architect, later studied at Real Academia de San Fernando, Spain. In 1998 he begins to work on his gold foils, a critically and commercially acclaimed series of artworks that combine baroquial handcraft with today's top consuming products, such as McDonalds cups, Corn Flakes boxes, training equipment, Nike sneakers, etc. He also takes a ludic perspective into the view of today's middle class consumerism. He works on skateboards, embeeds them on silver or cuts them to create new shapes. He uses baseball bats to recreate landscapes, or rip and sew foot balls.
Escobar has exhibited in various biennials, in France, Cuba, Perù, Ecuador, Dominican Republic and Venezuela. His works are featured in various collections, and have been exhibited widely in galleries, museums and biennials in Latin America, North America and Europe, recent exhibitions include: Poetics of the Handmade, The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, CA (2007); La Linea Interrumpida, Centro Cultural Metropolitano, Guatemala City, Guatemala (2007); The Hours: Visual Arts of Contemporary Latin America, Dublin Museum, Ireland (2005) and Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, Australia (2007). He will have a solo exhibition at Josée Bienvenu gallery, New York in spring 2008. In summer 2008, he will also be included in the group exhibition World Histories at the Des Moines Art Center, Des Moines, IA