Looking Forward: Simon Castets
Curators from influential institutions predict their Frieze London highlights
Curators from influential institutions predict their Frieze London highlights
The stand of Bogotá’s Casas Riegner (H3) will provide a welcome glimpse into conceptual work from Colombia. With the new Museo de Arte Moderno in Medellín and spaces like FLORA ars+natura in Bogotá, the country has seen the growth of an increasingly energetic local art scene. For Frieze London this year, Casas Riegner has selected works that address memory and how it takes shape in the present – a theme that, maybe as a result of their place in historical narratives, Colombian artists frequently address with particular acuteness. Among the artists at Casas Riegner, I am particularly excited to see Beatriz González’s practice placed in a cross-generational dialogue with that of Mateo López. González came of age in Colombia during ‘La Violencia’, a period of political and social unrest during the 1940s and ’50s, which deeply influenced her conceptual practice. Born two decades later, López work speaks to these same narratives, though with a degree of removal. Exploring shared context and lineages alongside contrasting chronological perspectives, the gallery’s inclusion of both established and emerging artists offers their stand an all-too-rare degree of historicity.
