Colombian Artist Juan Sebastian Celebrates the Tenth Anniversary of his Artistic Career at SCOPE Art Show 2024
This December, in collaboration with Galería Subtítulo, Colombian artist Juan Seabastian will celebrate the 10th anniversary of his artistic career with a retrospective and solo presentation of Veils, Shadows, and Spaces of the Self at SCOPE Art Show in Miami Beach. This retrospective marks a pivotal moment in his journey, reflecting a decade of artistic exploration and setting the stage for an exciting 2025.
Concepción
Veils, Shadows, and Spaces of the Self
This exhibition marks a pivotal moment in Juan Sebastian’s decade-long career as an art photographer, presenting a compelling body of work that interrogates the fluidity of identity through the language of concealment and revelation. The images in this selection, spanning ten years of practice, draw on Juan Sebastian’s deep-rooted connection to his Colombian heritage and the rich symbolism of ritual and myth. In this series, the veil emerges as a recurring motif, both concealing and unveiling the figures, allowing viewers to navigate the space between presence and absence, reality and fantasy.
The Veiled Figure: Transforming Identity
At the heart of this collection is the veiled figure, a central motif in Juan Sebastian’s exploration of identity. These figures do not simply conceal their identities but challenge the very concept of a fixed self. The veil, used as both a physical and metaphorical barrier, prompts reflection on how much of identity is shaped by what is seen and what remains hidden. Through the obscured body, Juan Sebastian invites us to consider the shifting nature of the self, where visibility and invisibility coalesce into a fluid narrative.
La Caricia del Velo
In works such as “La Caricia Del Velo” and “Entre Nosotros,” the veil not only conceals but transforms the figure, creating an aura of ambiguity. These pieces speak to the duality of selfhood—how the visible persona interacts with the unseen, inner layers of identity. The act of concealment becomes a mode of liberation, freeing the subject from the constraints of conventional representation.
Entre Nosotros
Ritual and Performance: Cultural Symbols Reimagined
Juan Sebastian’s work is deeply imbued with the symbolism of ritual and performance, drawing from the rich cultural and religious heritage of his upbringing in Colombia. The influence of Catholic iconography is palpable in pieces such as “Hombre Armado” and “Espejo,” where the clerical figure is both a symbol of authority and a reflection of cultural memory. Here, the figure is reimagined, stripped of clear narrative context, and positioned in ambiguous, dream-like settings, inviting questions about the role of ritual in shaping our personal and collective identities.
Hombre Armado
As the works unfold, the tension between tradition and modernity becomes evident. The religious and cultural symbols that once defined roles within society are deconstructed, and in their place, new identities emerge—fluid, fragmented, and in constant negotiation with external forces.
Espejo
The Mythical and the Mundane: Intersecting Realities
A central tension in this exhibition lies in the juxtaposition of the mythical and the mundane. Juan Sebastian’s imagery often blurs the lines between everyday life and the fantastical, creating a surreal interplay that disrupts our perceptions of reality. In “Cuando Fui Cisne” and “En El Valle de las Sombras,” we see the fluidity of fabric and light transform figures into ethereal beings, capturing the timeless quality of myths and legends.
Cuando Fui Cisne
En el Valle de Las Sombras
This surreal approach extends to works like “Tiempos Fugaces,” where a veiled figure’s presence in a desert landscape speaks to the transient nature of existence. Similarly, in “Hombre Caido,” the dynamic performance of a cowboy falling mid-performance evokes a theatrical yet deeply introspective moment. The images are imbued with tension, balancing between the serene and the dramatic, suggesting that everyday life holds within it moments of profound, mythical significance.
Tiempos Fugaces
Hombre Caido
Time and Stillness: The Body as a Temporal Agent
Throughout this collection, time emerges as a recurring theme. The figures are often caught in moments of temporal suspension, where movement and stillness blur together, suggesting that identity is constantly shifting and evolving. Juan Sebastian’s veiled figures, whether poised in mid-performance or standing in reflective stillness, act as temporal agents, negotiating between past, present, and future.
In “Espejo” and “Tiempos Fugaces,” we witness the passage of time made visible through the interaction of light and shadow, the fabric flowing as though capturing fleeting moments of transformation. The temporal dimension of these works draws the viewer into a contemplative space, where time is not linear but cyclical, and the body itself becomes a marker of both vulnerability and resilience.
The Evolution of a Decade: Identity in Flux
As this exhibition celebrates ten years of Juan Sebastian’s career, it offers a retrospective view of his evolving relationship with identity, culture, and form. The works trace a journey from introspective studies of veiled anonymity in rural landscapes to more complex, multi-layered compositions that weave together narrative, fantasy, and ritual.
This exhibition is not merely a reflection of past achievements but a deeper inquiry into how Juan Sebastian’s work continues to challenge and expand the boundaries of contemporary portraiture. The veil, as both a symbol and a tool, serves as a bridge between the personal and the collective, the hidden and the visible, allowing the artist to navigate the tension between self-expression and societal roles. It invites viewers to explore the layers of their own identities, blurring the line between who we are and who we might become.
Juan Sebastian
In “Veils, Shadows, and Spaces of the Self,” Juan Sebastian’s work captures the ongoing negotiation of identity, both individual and collective, through the subtle interplay of light, fabric, and gesture. The exhibition reflects his decade-long commitment to exploring the unseen aspects of existence, offering a visual meditation on how identity is both performed and transformed. It is an invitation to witness the invisible narratives that shape who we are, and how, through the act of concealment, new truths are revealed.