Born in Guatemala City, GT, 1971
Lives and works in Guatemala City, GT and Mexico City, MX
Darío Escobar’s practice is a formal and conceptual exploration of commonplace objects and their insertion into the fields of visual arts and art history. Meant to ignite a reflection in the viewer, to reconsider key relations in contemporary life, such as our bonds to mass culture, the elaboration of identity-based consumption, and the distinction between high and low culture. Escobar has since the early 90’s used ready-mades; a wide array of industrial and everyday consumption objects that range from McDonald’s paper cups to vulcanized tires and several types of sports gear to reflect upon our place within the social, political, and economic systems that sustain our existence.
Escobar was in 2020 awarded the "Carlos Mérida”, the highest artistic distinction in Guatemala by the Ministry of Culture of Guatemala. In 2022 Escobar presented a solo exhibition at the Nacional de Arte MUNAL in Mexico City, where his works was placed in the museum’s permanent exhibition, thus engaging and bringing a new perspective to their collection, in celebration of its 40th anniversary. The show, titled La palabra es de plata, el silencio de oro, was accompanied by a richly illustrated catalog of the same name. His work has also been the subject of institutional solo exhibitions at MAC – Museo de arte Contemporáneo de Santiago, Santiago de Chile; SCAD – Museum of Art, Savannah, Georgia; Museo Nacional de Arte Moderno Carlos Mérida, Guatemala City; CCM – Centro Cultural Metropolitano, Guatemala City; CCEG – Centro Cultural de España Guatemala, Guatemala City; and MADC – Museo de Arte y Diseño Contemporáneo, San José.
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Photo: Arenovski
