Beginnings

Oscar Alzate was born in Palmira, Valle. He began studying painting in three fine arts schools before becoming interested in cinema and finally embarking on the path of anthropological photography. This form of expression stimulated in him an attentive look at the relationship between light and colour, in addition to taking him to travel the rural areas of Colombia for two years, in search of themes to portray.

He made one of his trips with Gloria Triana and Toto la Momposina, to the Lower Magdalena, and Alzate as a photographer, they went on a search for the songs and dances of the river.

Left to right Toto la Momposina, Gloria Triana, Oscar Alzate, Bajo Magdalena farmers.

Exhibitions

The physical and mental wandering led him to his first study subject, rag dolls made by the provincial seamstresses, which were found, without fail, at the markets in every town and city of the country. Intrigued by the tacit relationship the doll reflected with its owner, Alzate took up painting again and dedicated an exhaustive study of these objects as an element of artistic exploration and an immutable expression of Colombian society displaced and immersed in war. The series “Muñecas en tela de juicio” (Dolls on trial) deserved its own exhibition at El Banco de la República - BLAA 1979.

Exhibition Banco de la República BLAA - 1979

“In the works of Oscar Alzate, the dolls are resources which allude to the performances of people who populate the fantasy-reality of his world. They are like shadows of a platonic fairy story, reflected in our cavern so that we feel as if we are really there outside, where we are not able to know ourselves. They are shadows of symbols as they serve as an approximation to the situations which precisely due to their familiarity are not fully comprehended.”

Avianca Collection

In the search for young promising artists, Dicken Castro was doing the rounds of the main galleries and exhibitions of the city, and found himself at the “Muñecas en tela juicio” exhibition, where he bought two of the artist’s works, which are now displayed in his private collection at Avianca.

Exhibition Ibarra Gallery - 1980 San Diego Gallery - 1981

“They are dolls which tell the story of families and towns. Dolls infused with anecdotes which fed Oscar the memories of his own town of his mother who was also a modista and made dolls. He realised the importance of painting what he felty and what he had lived.” Newspaper El Siglo, May 1981

Between País, Cuzco and Bogotá

Defying all social norms, the artist abandoned his growing fame and took refuge in Paris where he rented a studio and took up his artistic research again. It was a fertile period, although hard, concluding with the promise of a personal exhibition in the Gallery L’oeil de Beuf. Once based again in Bogotá, Alzate continued to configure his work around the presence of objects in daily life and about the relationship with their owners. Not much time passed before embarking on a new trip to Cuzco, Peru, where he began a course in Restoration in Cutural Furniture making the most of the free time to produce extensive register of photographs of roofs, yards, among others which turned into over a decade of work.

The Nineties

Towards the 90s, he was inspired by the doors found in the ruins of the suburbs destroyed in the name of progress, to paint about them in scenes of everyday life which they were part of. In parallel, he developed a deep interest in the top ‘el trompo’ which, more than a toy, signified an alternative path due to its creative energy. Within the call "brotherhood of the red spinning top", Alzate elaborated a new way of getting close to this object of popular culture, inventing a new form of playing with it. More than a hobby, to the artist, it represented the opportunity to create a new reality around an antique toy, and rethink and challenge the limitations which documented history of the top created under the leadership of Diego Garcia Moreno.*

Collections

1. Mujer con niño en patio. 1984.
“Lady with a child in the garden” 1984 During the Belisario Bentancour government, through a mutual friend master Alzate was asked for a donation to the private collection of the President of the Republic which is also registered today in his collection. Oil on canvas

2. Buey en solar quiteño. 2002.
“Buey in solar” 2002 Master Alzate donates a piece to the Ramirez Villamizar Museum of Modern Art. Oil on canvas.

3. Piedra en cruz verde. 2002.
"Stone in green cross" 2002 Yvonne Nichols acquires a piece of master Alzate for the Bolivar Group private collection. Acrylic on canvas.

Montanita, Ecuador

In search of new climes and experimenting in the world of cooking, Alzate travels to Ecuador where he resides in Montanita for a couple of years. Between painting and gastronomy, it is to this trip that he owes his works of women on the beach, the sea, and fishes which he completes in the early hours of the morning when the fishermen arrive with their fresh produce, a theme which he only tackled at this time. After this period, he returns to Colombia, to the suburb which sees him through to his final days: La Macarena. There he continues painting and cooking, a task which gives friends and acquaintances much to talk about as he prepares exquisite delicacies in his studio.

Aire y agua

“Air and Water” At the start of the new century, Alzate leans towards the study of two elements: air and water. To this end, se vale three plants which serve as an object of plastic expression. Water corn, native to the paramos, the Amazonic victory, aquatic plant of the Amazon region, and mangle, a tree which is found in the mouths of sea rivers. Around these typical species of ecosystems which represent a large part of the natural richness of Colombia, Alzate embarks on a study of over 15 years in which he elaborates paintings of large format where he primes interest by capturing the voluble effect of the light on the colour. These works capture the melancholy spirit which Alzate had express in his rag dolls, this time directing the focus towards the environmental destruction and disappearance of multiple species due to overexploitation of resources and global warming.

Left Photo: Hernando Toro

More information

Colection "Aire y agua"