Edgar Negret was born in Popayán in 1920, the same year
as both Obregón and Grau, with whose careers his own provides a fascinating
contrast. By age eighteen he was attending the School of Fine Arts in Cali,
in the southwestern part of the country. In 1948, while home in Popayán,
he met the Spanish sculptor Jorge de Oteiza, who decisively influenced his
early work.
In 1950, following a stay in Manhattan, Negret went off to Europe, residing
for short periods first in Barcelona and then in Mallorca and Paris. While
living in New York, Negret came to know such United States artists as Louise
Nevelson, Jack Youngerman and Ellsworth Kelly. By 1955 his prestige was
on the ascendant. Among the exhibitions in which he participated was "New
Acquisitions," at New York's Museum of Modern Art. An excellent example
of his work of this period is provided by the series of "Magic Apparatuses,"
presented at the 1957 São Paulo Biennial and in Bogotá the
following year. [In the present exhibit, Map belongs to this series,
while Space Navigator and Metallic Tower are later works.]
Negret received worldwide public recognition in 1968, when his work was
awarded the David E. Bright international prize for sculpture at the Thirty-fourth
Venice Biennial.
Negret's work abounds in allusions to post-war technology. Their precise,
blade-like edges are tempered by intelligent handling, which causes us to
question the relevance of our present concerns and our anxieties with regard
to the future. As objects, his sculptures lead us likewise to question the
roles that other objects play, both in our own lives and in our communities,
like it or not. This attitude of questioning has led both Negret and Ramírez
Villamizar although they have taken opposite directions to investigate
ancient artifacts. From them the two sculptors have extracted elements of
poetry and mystery that impart a timeless quality to their compositions.
Negret's sculptures are like magic vessels within which a genie lies
hidden. By touching them with the imagination, one can impart other qualities
to their mechanical coldness and functionality. These works remind us that
we cannot escape the impersonality of mass production and the homogenization
of daily life and must find some means of harmonious adaptation. |
