Since colonial times (the late 1400s), Latin America has supplied sugar to much of the world through its sugarcane crops. Nowadays, sugarcane can be used to generate ethanol and this substance can create electricity. In Adrián Balseca's Supradigm, bags of sugar are placed on top of a CitiCar, the first electric car produced in the US from 1974–77. Through this work, the artist reconnects us with the places from which we source natural resources.
Gabriel Chaile creates ovens that celebrate this relationship as well as his family’s long history of ceramic making and baking. These ovens are also meant to be used. They are periodically activated for people living in the communities where they are displayed, allowing for programmed public gatherins around the powerful act of eating together.
Adrián Balseca
This video is captioned in English and Spanish.
Este video está subtitulado en inglés y español.
Born in Quito, Ecuador in 1989, Adrián Balseca studies extractivist dynamics and their environmental impacts on land. His most recent exhibitions include Rethinking Nature (Museo MADRE, Napoli, 2021), 34th São Paulo Biennial: 'Though it's dark, still I sing' (Ciccillo Matarazzo Pavilion, São Paulo, 2021), and PLANTASIA OIL Co. (Galería N24, Quito, 2021). In 2019, he published MIRADOR: Visions on Extractivism (Ecuador 2007 – 2017), presenting a visual memory of the peasant and indigenous leaders who have been criminalized since the entry of the 6 mega-mining projects in Ecuador. The artist lives and works in Quito, Ecuador, and is represented by Galeria Madrago in Lisbon, Portugal.
Gabriel Chaile
This video is captioned in English and Spanish.
Este video está subtitulado en inglés y español.
Born in Tucumán, Argentina in 1985, Gabriel Chaile’s works hold a critical-poetical intersection between anthropology, the sacred and ritualistic, the political, and pre-columbian communities of South America. The artist earned his BA in Fine Art from the Universidad de Tucumán. Most recently, he has exhibited in Me hablan de oscuridad pero yoo estoy encandilado Genealogía de la forma, curated by Andrea Fernández (Barro, Buenos Aires, 2019), Diego, curated by Cecilia Alemani (Art Basel Cities, Buenos Aires, 2018), and Sonia (El ondulatorio, La Rioja, 2018). He has also participated in notable art fairs including Art Basel (Basilea), The Armory Show (New York), artBA (Buenos Aires), and Art Basel Miami Beach (Miami). He lives and works in Lisbon, Portugal.
Who tells a tale adds a tail: Latin America and contemporary art is organized by the Denver Art Museum. It is presented by the Birnbaum Social Discourse Project and The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. Additional support is provided by donors to the Annual Fund Leadership Campaign and the residents who support the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District (SCFD). Promotional support is provided by 5280 Magazine and CBS Colorado.
