Luis Caballero Holguín (27 August 1943 – 19 June 1995), born in

Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city of Colombia, and one of the larges ...

was a Colombian

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

, watercolourist,

pastel A pastel () is an art medium in a variety of forms including a stick, a square a pebble or a pan of color; though other forms are possible; they consist of powdered pigment and a binder. The pigments used in pastels are similar to those use ...

list and lithographer. Caballero is known for depicting masculine figures, which often include both erotic and violent imagery. He is viewed as one of the most important figures in Colombian art.

Biography

Caballero was raised in a conservative Catholic household. He studied at the University of Los Andes (Colombia) in 1961–62, where he met and was influenced by

etcher Etching is traditionally the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio (incised) in the metal. In modern manufacturing, other chemicals may be used on other types ...

artist Juan Antonio Roda and art critic

Marta Traba Marta Traba Taín (Buenos Aires, 25 January 1930 – Madrid, 27 November 1983) was an art critic and writer known for her contributions to Latin American art and literature. Biography Traba's parents were Catalan immigrants, Francisco Traba a ...

. He continued his academic studies in Paris at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière, graduating in 1964. It is during this time that he discovered Willem de Kooning, and Francis Bacon. Back in Colombia, in 1968, he won First Prize at the First Ibero-American Biennal of

Medellín Medellín ( or ), officially the Municipality of Medellín ( es, Municipio de Medellín), is the second-largest city in Colombia, after Bogotá, and the capital of the department of Antioquia. It is located in the Aburrá Valley, a central re ...

. Caballero returned to Paris where he found more freedom in 1969 and lived there until 1995, when he returned to Bogota for a special exhibition of his work at the Luis Ángel Arango Library. He died in June of the same year at the age of fifty-one. His figurative works are usually large scale mixed media oil, ink, watercolor washes on either canvas or paper, sometimes incorporating fabrics or rope in a limited range of muted sepia colors, often representing male nude figures, in a contemporary style marked by classic training.glbtqarchive.com , pdf
/ref> The

Tate Museum Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the U ...

in London acquired a work by the artist in 202

In 2024, the first UK exhibition by the artist opened at Cecilia Brunson Projects curated by Daniel Malarke

Publications and bibliography

* Luis Caballero by Luis Caballero * Luis Caballero : ''the male nude'' : May 3-May 29, 1994 by Luis Caballero * Luis Caballero : ''paintings & drawings by Luis Caballero'' * L. Caballero, ''Me tocó ser así'' * Barnitz, Jacqueline. ''Twentieth-Century Art of Latin America''. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2001. * Rodríguez, Marta. ''Luis Caballero.'' Arte Nexus: Arte en Colombia 27 (January–March 1998): 121–23. * Sokolowski, Thomas. ''Luis Caballero: Large Scale Drawings''. New York: Nohra Haime Gallery, 1991. Catalogue of Exhibition, Grey Art Gallery, New New York University's fine art museum, June 4-July 12, 1991.

References

External links

Issuu.com "El deseo y el tormento secularizados en la obra de Luis Caballero"

Colombia.co, Luis Caballero Holgin the naked truth behind evocative art
{{DEFAULTSORT:Caballero, Luis 1943 births 1995 deaths University of Los Andes (Colombia) alumni Alumni of the Académie de la Grande Chaumière 20th-century Colombian painters 20th-century Colombian male artists Gay painters Artists from Bogotá Colombian gay artists Colombian LGBT painters Colombian male painters 20th-century Colombian LGBT people